Dangerous Journeys
by Quidditchref
Summary: This is the Book 8 "she" would have written...averaging over 120 reads per day on HPFF. Fills in all 19 years after the Epilogue, and the 7 school years of the kids. Do not ignore the lessons of the past! Harry Ginny Draco Hermione Ron Rose Scorpius Other
1. Book 1, Chapter 1, Sunrise

_**A/N: Welcome to "Dangerous Journeys". I was totally unhappy with the ending of the Harry Potter series, as were many other people. I felt there were too many loose ends to tie up, and that there had to be a story covering the "missing" 19 years between "The Flaw In The Plan" and the "Epilogue". In fact, of course, there have been many written, and a group of us have started collecting them in a Community called "To The Epilogue and Beyond" which is stored on this web site.**_

_**I started writing "Dangerous Journeys" on December 10, 2007. I am writing this author's note on May 18, 2008, the day after the story achieved 10,550 reads on Harry Potter Fan Fiction. I am not particularly fond of that site, and the version of the story posted here is the better version by far.**_

_**My main reason for posting this note before Chapter 1, "Sunrise", is that this is a VERY long novel, and like many long stories, it takes awhile to get going. The real plot doesn't even begin until Chapter 5 because I feel there were so many loose ends in "Deathly Hallows" I've tried to get most of those out of the way in the first four chapters before launching off into the story of the Ron/Draco/Hermione love triangle and it's effect on the second generation children.**_

_**I have spent a lot of time revising the early chapters because, frankly, I did not have enough experience writing fiction when I began this tale. Therefore, I ask, beg, plead with anyone starting this to read at least the first six chapters, and to know that the pivotal chapter in the story is Chapter 10,"The New World".**_

_**Finally, as we all know, the characters and many of the settings in the Harry Potter Universe are the creation of J.K. Rowling. I don't own them, nor do I make any money from this writing exercise. Any character or setting not found in her seven original Harry Potter books was created by me, but I don't pretend to claim a copyright on anything in this story.**_

_**Now, please enjoy "Dangerous Journeys"!**_

BOOK 1, CHAPTER 1: SUNRISE

They sat huddled close together in the Great Hall, three platinum blonds with thin, patrician faces and lean bodies. Overhead, the enchanted ceiling was turning into a bright and cloudless sky, in marked contrast to the ugly gray yesterday. All around them was a cacophonic mix of grief and celebration as families discovered that loved ones had lived or died, and the bodies of the dead were removed to await arrangements.

The body of the Dark Lord had been set aside, now just the shell of a former Hogwarts student named Tom Riddle, killed by his own failure to understand the dark magic he thought that he controlled. Another fifty-four students, teachers and family members had met their deaths at the hands of his followers in the great war between light and dark, but the light had won and the room was filled with sunlight. The house elves and teachers, under the direction of acting Headmistress Minerva McGonagall, had begun the process of cleaning and repair, and members of the Order of the Phoenix were working to restore the government of the Ministry of Magic under Kingsley Shacklebolt.

"They will be coming for me soon," said Lucius Malfoy, still imperial in both posture and speech. "There is no way, at least for the present, that I can escape being returned to Azkaban. But at least, they have driven away the dementors and will no longer use them to guard the prison." He looked away from his wife and son. It was difficult to tell what he was thinking, what he was feeling.

"No!" cried Narcissa Malfoy, tears streaming down her face. "We have earned the right to more consideration than that. In the end, we did not support Voldemort. I even turned against my own sister. I saved the life of Harry Potter!"

Narcissa Malfoy had indeed saved Harry Potter's life. When he had first been struck down by Riddle, it was Narcissa who told the former "Dark Lord" that Potter was dead. It was a lie. She had only been interested in getting into Hogwarts Castle to see if she could find their son, Draco.

"And I refused to identify Potter, Weasley and Granger for the Dark Lord at our house," added Draco Malfoy. Draco had spent nearly two years in fear for his own life, and that of his mother. Even now, he held onto her hand as though she might evaporate.

"In the end, it will not matter," Lucius said, sounding more like a deposed king resigned to his fate than the survivor of a terrible war. "We have come to the light too late, I believe…at least too late for me. The dark magic, the racial hatred of muggles and those who were not pureblood…those things are in the genes of the House of Malfoy and the House of Black. We have done terrible things in their name, and we will be punished."

"It all sounded so grand, didn't it?" he asked his wife. "Surely those of us born of witches and wizards must be superior to those born of Muggles! How can it be otherwise? How can such people deserve magical ability? Weren't we born to rule the world?"

"How wrong! How wrong!" Lucius actually pounded on the table in frustration as he realized for the hundredth time since the fight in the Ministry what a terrible mistake he had made.

"What we must do now is make amends as best we can. We must take whatever punishments may come. We must change the way we think and the way we act. We cannot do it all at once. It will take a tremendous amount of time for each of us, and I do not know if it is possible to change one's very nature. But we must try."

Lucius Malfoy and his family had undergone a serious change of heart in the spring of 1996. After an aborted attempt to use Harry Potter to retrieve a prophesy from the Ministry of Magic, the Malfoy family had fallen out of favor with Riddle. Once one of the top Death Eater lieutenants, Lucius had been reduced to little more than lap dog status. The family home had been seized and used as a headquarters by the dark army, and all three had been physically and mentally abused.

Soon, it became clear to them that Riddle's true objective was to kill them. But, to make it seem justified to his other followers, his strategy had been to force them to accept almost impossible assignments. When they failed, as he was sure they would, then he would make examples of them. From that point on, their only goal had been to survive the war, and when they could, they had chosen paths that actually helped the resistance.

"Draco, my son, you will return to Hogwarts, if they will have you." Lucius continued. "You must complete your education, and finish your seventh year. I think you should concentrate on international relations and muggle studies. You might even consider studying in the muggle world after you graduate.

"My dear Narcissa. I will do all in my power to keep you out of prison. You must blame Bellatrix for everything. You must claim that she and I both had you under the imperious curse. We will tell them how you helped Potter by fooling Riddle in the Forbidden Forest, and everyone saw that we did not fight this time with the Death Eaters. There is plenty of wealth in our vault. You will have the Manor, and the resources to work for good causes. If you choose wisely, you can restore some honor to the Malfoy name. Do you understand? Do you agree?"

"Yes, Lucius," said the still beautiful and haughty woman, raising her head to look her husband in the eyes.

"Draco, in the long run, it will all be up to you, no matter what your mother and I can accomplish from here," Lucius continued. "Do you understand?"

"Yes, Father," replied the blond young man. He was obviously not as sure as his words.

"The House of Malfoy was a great House for hundreds of years," Lucius said. "I have brought dishonor on our house because I misunderstood the reasons for our greatness. I thought that blood was more important than good works. I thought that pride was more important than love. I thought that death could be defeated. I thought that dark magic, old magic, was more powerful than the light. In all those things, I was wrong, and I now charge you to undo the damage to our house. Will you try to do that for me, son?

"Yes," said Draco as tears began to stream down his face. He was shaking. It was impossible to tell if it was from remorse or fear.

"I have not been the best of fathers," Lucius said.

"Father, that's not true…" Draco began.

"No, Draco. Hear me out. I have spoiled you in too many ways; taught you that wealth can buy power and success; abused you when you did not do my bidding; exposed you to the greatest dangers imaginable, including the risk of your very soul. Your well-being and happiness were all I ever wanted. I went out of my way to make sure you had everything you ever wanted, but everything we wanted was tainted by our blood."

"I believed that by earning power, even if it was tainted with the dark side, I was earning you a place in history. Instead, I nearly cost you your life. Learn from this. Power is nothing without love. Find true love, and your happiness and power will come from that as it has for Harry Potter."

"Now it is up to you overcome both your nature and your nurture. You are going to be left on your own for some time to come. I am sure they will hold both your mother and me until I can convince them of her innocence. I think your first step must be to make amends with Potter, Weasley and Granger, and I think you must do that at once if you ever hope to achieve a normal life in our world." Lucius said.

Draco looked over in the direction of the large group of redheads. The Weasley family was always easy to spot in large gathering of people. As usual, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger were among them. Draco's glance fixed on Granger. He could not believe how defeated she looked. She had been on the winning side, yet everything about her posture and the expression on her face would have passed for the sorriest loser in the war.

He had always thought of her as smart and brave, even when he treated her badly. Now she looked thin and wasted, with her arms wrapped supportively around Molly Weasley. For the first time, he began to see the difference between his family, and theirs.

He had no way of knowing how keenly she felt the loss of so many friends, and of Fred Weasley. All he knew was that suddenly he felt sorry for her. He felt sorry for Hermione Granger who he had tormented and called a Mudblood for six long years. He was not sure what it was, but he felt a silent tug at his heart. Then she looked up and locked eyes with him; he could not hold the glance; he looked quickly away as if caught in something dirty.

Two Aurors approached. The number of people in the Great Hall was thinning out as people were assigned duties, or sought to find privacy and rest. It was nearly mid-morning, and many people had not slept for almost two days.

"Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy," said the youngest one. "I'm Auror Dirk Truncheon. I'm sorry. We've been instructed to take you into custody. All over England, Death Eaters are being arrested while we investigate your roles in all these troubles, and decide what must be done. Will you come?"

The little family rose as one. "We are ready," said Lucius, still proud but resigned to whatever fate had in store for him. The Auror took Lucius' cane and wand. Malfoy stiffened and gave a small bow. Narcissa raised her head proudly. Father, mother and son embraced, and with tears streaming down all their faces, Lucius and Narcissa were led away. No bindings or spells were needed.

As the house elves and Ministry cleaning crews continued to repair the damage from the Battle of Hogwarts, magically removing the dust and debris, and setting the paintings and armor back where they belonged with waving wands and cleaning spells, Draco made his way down into the dungeon and the Slytherin quarters. He, like everyone else, was exhausted. In the green and silver common room, and in his bedroom, he found he was quite alone. Not another Slytherin had remained to fight on the side of Harry Potter.

_**A/N: Please feel free to leave reviews. It's easy...just click the little "Go" button to the left and start typing! I am writing this story to improve my use of dialogue (see my profile) so I am especially interested in comments about my writing style.**_


	2. Book 1, Chapter 2, Redemption

BOOK 1, CHAPTER 2: REDEMPTION

The day after the Battle of Hogwarts was recalled in the memories of virtually everyone in England as one of the most beautiful days ever. It was May in the muggle year 1998, and spring blessed all with her fullest glory.

Harry Potter had slept for nearly eighteen hours. Kreacher had brought Harry, Ron and Hermione sandwiches, pumpkin juice and pudding in the Gryffindor common room, and all three had crawled off to bed. None of them had slept since they left Bill Weasley's cottage. When he awoke, sun was streaming in through the dormitory windows, Ron was snoring away on the next bed over, and Neville Longbottom was dressing.

"You were bloody brilliant, Neville," said Harry, still stretched out on his four-poster bed. "That was the bravest thing I ever saw, pulling out that sword and killing the snake. And you were on fire! Good for you saving the Sorting Hat while you were at it."

"Nothing compared to you, mate," Neville said, but he had a broad smile on his face. "Just a couple of true Gryffindors at a hard day's work."

Ron snorted. "Are you guys really ready to face the world again?" he asked. He certainly was not. For one thing, there was Fred. For another, he was hungry again. And then, there was Hermione.

"Ron, unfortunately, there is still much to be done," Harry said. "Life isn't very fair, is it? We ought to be thinking about a very long holiday instead of worrying about burying some our family, rebuilding Hogwarts, finishing school and finding careers. I guess I was mental yesterday to think I'd had enough trouble!"

The boys all finished dressing, and as they entered the common room, Hermione and Ginny came down from the girls dorm.

"Where's the rest of the family," asked Ron. He knew Ginny had stayed with Molly and Arthur long into the night.

"McGonagall found them some guest quarters," Ginny said. "We'll have to meet them right away to make some plans about Fred," she added sadly, as a tear formed in her eye. Both Harry and Hermione immediately put their arms around the youngest Weasley.

"How are Mum and Dad," Ron asked. He felt a little guilty about going off with Harry and Hermione to Dumbledore's office, even though he knew it had to be done.

"Torn up," his sister replied. "Mum can't stop crying and shaking, and Dad just can't seem to find any words for anything."

"Ginny...I'm so sorry!" Harry said. "It's all my fault. If you want to be angry with me, I understand. This is my entire fault. I never chose this, but if I had never been born...if he had just left me alone...if he had killed me too..." Letting go of Ginny, Harry turned sadly away, feeling his heart tear as he broke the embrace.

"No Harry." Ginny almost shouted. She hit him on the back, as hard as she could. He staggered from the blow. "It is NOT your fault. We all knew what we were doing. None of us wanted to live in a Riddle world."

"Fred wanted to fight. Do you know he died with a smile on his face? We're sad now. We'll miss him forever. But with or without Harry Potter, every member of the Weasley family was prepared to lay down their life to stop the dark side." Ginny wasn't crying any longer. The look on her face was defiant, but the look in her eyes was one of love. And you, you prat…"

Harry didn't know what to say. He wanted to take her in his arms, hold her, kiss her, and tell her why he had made her stay away from him. But he knew this wasn't the time or place. "You and I have to talk. Not now, though. Take all the time you need. Just know that I love you as much today, maybe more, as the day you kissed me goodbye."

"Maybe I'll let you apologize," she said. There was a long pause as each of the five was alone with his or her own thoughts.

"Listen you guys," Harry said. "I know being with your family is the most important thing you have to do, and it's important to me too. But can we all spend a few minutes here before we go downstairs? I'll ask Kreacher to bring our breakfasts here…I'm still starving!…and I have some things I have to discuss with all of you."

"Kreacher, could you come here to us, please?" asked Harry, and there was a loud crack as the house elf appeared in the common room.

"Yes, Master Harry. What can Kreacher do for the defenders of house elves this morning?" the tiny wizened creature croaked in his bullfrog voice. He was still wearing Regulus' gold medallion around his scrawny neck.

"Can you please scrounge us up some breakfast, my friend?" asked Harry.

"Master has called Kreacher his friend!" rumbled the elf, and Harry thought he saw a tear trickle down the long old pointed nose. "We have the kitchen working again, Master Harry. Kreacher and Winky will be right back." Mumbling to himself ("Master has called Kreacher friend. Kreacher does not deserve such an honor from Harry Potter!") Kreacher disapparated with another loud pop, only to return moments later with Winky, and enough food to feed most of London.

"OK, look. We have to make some plans," Harry said. "First off, I'm going to go find McGonagall and see what the plans are for the school. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm going to finish, and that means coming back here next September."

"That's what I want to do," Hermione agreed. "First, though, I've got to go to Australia and get my folks."

"Yeah, I guess I'll come back too," Ron smiled. "School's not my favorite thing, but I'm not sure what else I want to do. It's either that or try out for the Cannons! And, Hermione is not going to go to Australia by herself, either." They smirked warmly at each other.

"I don't know if I can even think right now," Ginny said. "There's Fred and Mom and Dad to think about. And then," she said, turning towards Harry, "there's you!"

Harry felt his face turning a burning red. "Uh, Gin, we'll talk about that last part just a little later, but one thing…I only broke up with you to protect you, and I do want you back if you'll have me!" Once again, there was an embarrassed silence in the red and gold room. Ginny started to cry again. "Harry, you know that's all I want," she said. "We can work it out, I know we can."

"All right, hopefully we'll all be back at school, so that's settled. Now, second, I've got to talk to the Malfoys. "I don't know how genuine their turn around really is, but it seems to me they've only been doing what they were doing out of fear. Draco really helped us out when he confused Riddle at their house, and I told you how Narcissa lied to him in the Forest, even if it was only because she wanted to find Draco.

"I think if we are all coming back, and they have really turned towards the light, we are going to have to help Draco," Harry said.

"What! No! That prat!" exclaimed Ron.

"Light side or dark side, he IS still an egomaniacal ferret face," added Hermione.

"Yeah, but I think his parents are going to be out of the picture for awhile," said Harry, "and if we are truly going to rebuild Hogwarts into the kind of place we all want it to be, I think we are going to have to find a way to include Draco Malfoy in our plans."

"I don't like it," Ron shouted. "We can't trust him. He'll say whatever he thinks we want to hear just to get in. He's Slytherin. They're experts at getting what they want, no matter how, and no matter who they hurt along the way."

"It's not easy for me to accept him either," Hermione said. "Here's the thing. Now that the war is over, our main goal has to be helping things get back to normal. We have to help rebuild the school. That's why it's wicked that all of us want to come back together, but it's also why we will need Draco Malfoy. Maybe you think we can bring back the school without Slytherin House, but I don't. It's not Hogwarts without all four Houses. That's why we need him if they'll let him come back, because, believe me, they are not going to allow most of the Slytherins back in school."

"There's an old muggle saying, 'Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer!' and that's what we need to do here. I know he's treated us like shite, but now we need to turn him around, maybe even make him our friend. With his help, we can change the way things have been between the houses. Without him, it all goes back to the way it was during the war."

"You might think this is too sudden a change of heart for me, but I've been thinking about it a lot the past year...not Malfoy so much...but the whole school situation," Harry said, "and I think this is part of the answer, depending on what McGonagall tells me."

"What about you, Neville?" asked Harry.

"I don't really know," Neville said. "First off, some of us in the DA were here all year, but I don't know if we're going to get full credit. If we do, I suppose I graduate, but Professor Sprout has offered me a herbology graduate assistantship, so I think I'll be here next year either way. Right now, my main priority is to find Gram and then go see my folks in the hospital."

"OK," said Harry. "Let's do this. Ron and Ginny, you've got to be with your family. Let me know what the plans are for Fred as soon as you all decide. Hermione, can you please contact Luna, Cho and the other DA members. Maybe Neville can help you once he touches bases with his Gram. I need to know who is still around and what they are going to do."

"Certainly," said the smartest witch of her age.

"Also, I need you stay here a minute more, Hermione," he said. "I need a private word."

"I'll deal with McGonagall, the other teachers, and as many of the other families as I have to," said Harry. "The main thing I want to do is just get back to being plain Harry Potter, Hogwarts student. I've had enough of this "Chosen One" business, and it's someone else's turn so far as I'm concerned," he added.

"Well, I wouldn't plan on staying out of the _"Daily Prophet"_ just yet, if I were you," Hermione said with a smirk. "For one thing, I think I've been noticing a green-shelled beetle crawling around on the window sill over there, and think that damn Rita just now flew out the window!"

**DJDJDJ**

"Hermione, I'll need your help tomorrow morning," Harry said once they were alone. I want to put the Elder Wand back with where it belongs, and that means I need to get into Dumbledore's tomb. Then I need to close it up so no one will get in again."

"The Hallows have to be our secret. I don't anyone to know what they are, or what has become of them. I don't even want Ron to know where the stone and wand are. They might be a huge temptation to any witch or wizard who knows too much about them. You're the only one I trust."

"Sure, Harry, you know you can count on me." They gave each other their biggest hugs. "Let's get down to breakfast and get some more food that isn't based on mushroom stew!"

After breakfast, Harry found Acting Headmistress Minerva McGonagall in her old office, apparently attempting to enchant some paperwork back into its files.

"I thought you might be upstairs in the Headmaster's rooms," Harry said, as he knocked on the side of the door.

"Ahh, Mr. Potter! Just the man I most need to see right now," she said.

"And I you," he replied. "Too many people are looking to me for answers and I don't know anything. What are the plans?"

"The price of being heroic, I'm afraid," McGonagall answered. "Well, first of all, I don't think we can finish this school year. There are too many families with too much tragedy to attend to. Also, I do not think we can complete repairs quickly enough. There is a gargoyle lying on its side by the Headmaster's door who can barely function!"

"What I am going to recommend to the Board of Governors, once we find out who they really are now that this over, is that they grant advancement to all the students who actually were able to attend the whole year," she said. "Of course, that means that you and Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger still have a seventh year to complete."

"We've already talked about it, and that's what we want to do," Harry said with a smile. "Frankly, for Hermione and me, even though we're almost adopted children to the Weasleys, Hogwarts is more close to a home than anywhere else. Hermione, though, is going to retrieve her Mum and Dad."

"Good, good!" exclaimed the Headmistress. "Now, Miss Lovegood completed less than half a year, so I am going to suggest she repeat. And then, that brings us to the problem of Draco Malfoy. I don't know how you feel about them, but his mother and father are criminals, and regardless of any recent changes they may have made in the ways they think, they are going to have to pay a price for their past actions. Strictly speaking, Lucius Malfoy is nothing more than an escaped felon as it is. I am not yet certain how we want to treat Narcissa and Draco."

"I think I'll want some input into that if possible, Professor," Harry said. "I plan to talk to them next. They have done some things you don't yet know about, and I just need to get a couple things straight with them."

"Of course, dear boy!" McGonagall said. "I know if he were still with us, Dumbledore would want, and would accept, your judgment. I'll make sure you get your say with the staff and with the Board. So you think we should probably plan to try to re-admit and reform Draco?"

"I don't yet know for sure," Harry said, "But I'm leaning that way. I think we will need those Slytherins who no longer rely on dark magic if we are going to rebuild Hogwarts."

"Mr. Potter, I could not agree with you more!" McGonagall said.

**DJDJDJ**

Harry had to ask around, but he found that Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy were being held in a guest room. Next, he went looking for Draco, and found him by himself in the green and silver Slytherin common room. The room was in total disarray, and it looked as though the residents had beaten a hasty retreat, which in fact, they had.

"Hello, Malfoy," Harry said. He tried to offer a smile.

"Come to gloat, have you Potter?" asked Malfoy. He was staring down at his shoes.

"I'm not sure yet," Harry said. "I think that depends on you and your family. I think you should come with me to see your Mum and Dad, and we'll talk about it. I suppose it's no surprise to you that your parents have been arrested?"

"I was there," the blond boy replied. He slid his hands through his silver blond hair as he recalled them walking off with the Aurors.

"Walk with me, then," said Harry, and he led Malfoy through the still dusty castle halls to the room where his parents were being held.

"May we please see the Malfoys for a few minutes," Harry asked the same two Aurors who were now guarding the hallway.

"Should be OK for you, Mr. Potter," said young Dirk Truncheon. "Don't know about him, though," he said, looking scornfully at Draco. "By the way, congratulations. Don't know if I got to say it yet. Hope you're planning to join us some day!" he added.

"Thanks," said Harry. "I think so. Look. About Draco. He's with me and it will be OK. He hasn't got any weapons on him and I don't think we can sneak Lucius and Narcissa past you guys. But I've got to find out some things from these people, and I need Draco just as much as his parents."

"OK, Mr. Potter," said the second Auror. "But please don't be long. To us, these are still very dangerous people."

Harry and Draco were admitted to the room. Narcissa rushed forward, her platinum hair streaming behind her, and threw her arms around her blond boy. Lucius just raised his head, staying in his seat.

It was a small room, but not uncomfortable. It was one of those that had been used to house the Beauxbaton girls during the Tri-Wizard Tournament, and was a small bedroom with two twin beds, and a smallish bathroom towards the side. There was a window, and by fortune, it looked out over the lake, where the giant squid was currently doing the backstroke across the rippling water.

"Better quarters than Azkaban, I guess," Harry said. Lucius Malfoy was staring at his toes.

"So, Potter, I see you haven't lost your talent for riposte; come to add to our misery?" Lucius said. "As you often warned me, it looks like I picked the wrong side." He slowly raised his head and looked at Harry.

"Well, Lucius," Harry said, dropping all pretense of respect for the older man, "that's one of the things I'm here to find out. Just how genuine is this supposed conversion of your family?"

"Oh, it's genuine all right," said the father. "Potter, after I failed to get the prophesy from you at the Ministry of Magic, my family and I were living on borrowed time. The Dark Lord…"

"Don't call him that!" Harry exclaimed. "He was just Tom Riddle, a wizard gone bad, not some king of the sorcerers!"

"Have it your way," Malfoy continued. "OK, Riddle then, already doubted me because I had not tried to find him after you survived his killing curse. That's why he tried to use that fanatic Barty Crouch to kill you in the Tri-Wizard Tournament. And then he blamed me again for letting you escape from the cemetery."

"After that, he made Narcissa and me let him use our home as his headquarters. He swore he would kill us in the most painful way he knew if we turned on him, and of course, Sissy's sister was his most trusted disciple. It was almost impossible to work against him. I am not an expert in occlumency, and frankly, no one in our family is very skilled in the mental arts." Narcissa Malfoy stood, walked across the room, and laid her tiny white hand on her husband's shoulder.

"At any rate, he then told Draco that his mission was to kill Dumbledore at Hogwarts, because Death Eaters could not penetrate the school's defenses. Draco tried several things, but was destined to fail, and my son was certain he, his mother, and I were about to be killed. Then Draco found a way to sneak a few Death Eaters into Hogwarts, and Snape killed Dumbledore. But, we had seen by then that Riddle intended to kill us no matter what, and that he would simply cook up another mission at which we would eventually fail. This would have happened, I am sure, even if his plans for domination of the wizarding world had succeeded."

"So, we had little choice but to change sides, although we could not do so openly while Riddle lived." Lucius concluded. Malfoy stood, turned away from Harry, and then turned back and locked his stormy eyes with Harry's emerald orbs.

"Well, I certainly wouldn't have expected an altruistic reason," Harry exclaimed.

"Now, wait," Lucius said. "You must understand. We have seen the error of our ways. I can't say we are completely free of blood prejudices, Mr. Potter, but I think we have learned that it's not so much what you are born to, but the choices you make, that determine who and what you are. We have made some very bad choices. I know I am going back to prison for those choices. But I have asked Draco and Narcissa, if you who have won will accept them, to spend their lives trying to restore some measure of honor to the House of Malfoy. But, even you cannot expect an overnight conversion."

"Potter…you know me. You have seen how I can act. You must know that begging does not come easy to a Malfoy. But I am begging you Potter…pleases give my family the chance at redemption that I don't deserve and won't ask for myself, Lucius said. "If you and your friends can help Draco learn to think more like you, maybe he can overcome the way I raised him, and then he might be saved." Narcissa laid her head on his shoulder.

"Draco," Harry asked, "why did you refuse to identify us for Riddle that night at your house?"

"Ahh, you noticed that did you?" Draco said, still a little haughty. "I may be many things, and many of them unpleasant, but I am not a Judas. I am not a killer. I just don't have that in me. I could not be the one to kill Dumbledore, and I could not send my fellow students, even my greatest rivals, to their deaths. I could not have that on my conscience. We have been involved in these dark things as a matter of survival, because my insane aunt would have been the first to kill us if she suspected disloyalty. We have wanted power, it is true, but mostly, we just want to live."

"Narcissa, I know the only real reason you told Riddle I was dead was because you thought it was the only way he would let you go to Hogwarts to find Draco," Harry said. "But you must have known that if you let me fool him, I would destroy him in the end. Was that truly your plan? You must have known he would kill you all if I failed. Some gamble on your part, I'd say!"

She smiled faintly. "I thought it was our only hope," Narcissa said. "I just thought if I could get you a second chance, perhaps you would win. I had no idea that it was always your intention to sacrifice yourself, or the reason why. None of us knew about Riddle's horcruxes, although perhaps we should have figured it out. I didn't know if you were truly strong enough to defeat him, but I knew if you did not, the House of Malfoy would die."

"We are not perfect people. You could not grow up a Black, and not believe at least a little of what the old families believed about blood purity, and the superiority of wizards over the rest of the magical world. But I no longer believe those things. I have seen how evil those ideas are. Lucius has asked me to use our wealth to help make the world a better place, and if you will help to guide me, Harry Potter, that is what I plan to do."

"You know, Sirius and Regulus grew up as Blacks, and they were able to disavow blood purity. We can do it too. I would be most happy if you, of all people, would look after Draco for a while. Perhaps, with your guidance, he will see what you see in the world. Who knows? Perhaps you will even be associates, if not friends, one day."

"OK," Harry said. "These are the things I was hoping to hear. It's a lot better than a bunch of threats and lies, you guys! And, I do believe most of what you say; at least, I believe you believe it. I'll talk to my friends, the Order, and the Ministry, and we will see what we will see. Draco, will you come with me for minute, please. I'll see if the Aurors will let you come back when I'm through with you."

Outside, Harry took Draco far down to the end of the hall, outside of hearing range for the guards.

"Draco, the others and I talked this morning. We want you to come back to school if the Board of Governors and the Ministry of Magic will permit you to enroll. There will be a hearing, I'm sure. All of us are going to speak in your defense. Will you pledge yourself, right now to me, to come back and help us rebuild?" Harry said.

Malfoy looked at Harry for a long time. He seemed to be considering whether or not there could be a trap somewhere in the question. He and Potter had hated each other for so long that it seemed almost incredulous that "The Chosen One" was now offering him another chance.

Then his thoughts turned to Hermione Granger. Here was someone who he had always though of as inferior. A girl. A Muggle-born. A bookworm. Average looks. Why was he so damn fascinated with her? Why did he see this offer as not just a chance to redeem the family name, but a chance to get to know Hermione Granger? Was that what he really wanted.

"OK, Potter. We may not be friends yet. But I see what needs to be done, and Father has asked me to return respect to our name," Draco said. "Yes, if you can get them to let me back in, I will work with you and the others, and we will see what the future can bring us."

At that moment, the Earth rotated around to a position so the Sun shown brightly through the window at the end of the hall, casting brilliant light on the smiling faces of Harry Potter, the boy who lived, and Draco Malfoy, who had once been his enemy.


	3. Book 1, Chapter 3, The Saddest Day

BOOK 1, CHAPTER 3: THE SADDEST DAY

On the third day, the weather stayed nice enough, smiling for the victors, and work crews could complete most of the magical repair work. Harry took a small group down to Dumbledore's tomb, and made sure most of the damage inflicted by Tom Riddle was also repaired, and security spells were added that only Harry could remove. Harry watched as the Malfoys were transferred back to London to await their trials, and a hearing for Draco.

But the fourth day dawned with vengeful grief, and the sky cried out for the dead. The Ministry had decided that, given the scope of the tragedy, a memorial service would be held mid-morning at Hogwarts. Then the families would take their dead, and complete whatever arrangements they had made that afternoon and evening.

Hermione had to get out of bed early, and her bare feet stung on the cold floor of her dorm room. McGonagall had permitted those who had nowhere else to go to spend their days and nights in the castle. That included Hermione and Harry, of course, and most of the families with dead or casualties in the infirmary had also chosen to remain until after the service.

Hermione met Harry in the Gryffindor common room, both of them dressed in slickers, boots and coats. Harry tossed the invisibility cloak over them, and they hurried downstairs, through the doors, and out into the brooding weather.

"Terrible stuff, isn't it," Hermione said. "I hope there's at least a little clearing later on. I wouldn't be doing this if you hadn't said you wanted my help."

"I think I'll need it," Harry replied with a frown. "I'm not really sure how to go about this, but we have to get it done before we leave for the Burrow." The two friends continued down towards the lake under the cloak, and reached Dumbledore's tomb.

"What I need to do," Harry said, "is put the Elder Wand back inside. Since I'm the last master of the Wand, if I die a natural death, its power dies with me. I don't know if you saw Ron's face when I asked Dumbledore's portrait about this, but to be honest, Hermione, I don't know if I can trust him with this part. So, do you think between us, we can get the crypt open enough for me to put the Wand back inside?" Harry temporarily removed his security spells.

"Uhh, I think so, Harry. Let me give this a try," said Hermione, beginning to wave her wand in a series of intricate motions. "Patafacio!" she cried, and the top of the sarcophagus slowly lifted open like a door to a room, and hovered just enough to allow Harry to peer inside without letting in the rain.

"You know, Hermione…you are absolutely the most brilliant person I've ever met, and if you hadn't been spoken for the other day, I just might want you for myself," said Harry, turning a little smile on his best friend. He peered in to make sure Dumbledore's body was still wrapped as he remembered, with the hands folded across the great wizard's chest, then slipped the Elder Wand back where it belonged.

"I think you would end up a bigamist in that case," said Hermione. "Besides, Ginny is also one of my closest friends, and I don't intend to fight her over a boy!" They both had a little laugh. "Harry, have you had a chance to talk to her yet?" she added, and then, pointing her wand at the lid, exclaimed, "claudomaxima!" The lid returned to its original position, and Harry heard a couple of snapping sounds. "I don't think anyone will be opening that again without either you or me present," she said.

"No, actually, I haven't," said Harry. "I haven't wanted to intrude on the family. Actually, I haven't even spoken to Ron since our morning after meeting. I thought maybe if we could all get through today, there would be lots of time for other things. How about you and Ron?"

"Same, actually," she said. "But I have talked just a little to Ginny, and I think she would like it very much if you stood beside her today. She is going to need someone to lean on, and I think her Mum and Dad are going to be too broken up to do her much good. You know, it's a big family, Harry, but I think they believe you and I are very much a part of it."

"What's going to be so hard for me is that this is all my fault! Fred and Lupin and Tonks and even Dumbledore! None of this would have ever happened if I had never been born," Harry said, and for at least the hundredth time, the tears started again.

"Harry!" Hermione's command was sharp. "Get over it. This is just survivor's guilt, and it's got no place here. Too many people are counting on you. If Riddle hadn't chosen you and started this with you, it could just as easily have been Neville, and you know that. Too many people are counting on you."

"Too bloody many people have always been counting on me, ever since this started. I didn't want it, and I would've done anything to not be part of it," he said.

"Well Harry…I'm sorry! All the time-turners were destroyed the night we were at the Ministry. You don't get to go back and change things. You were not the bad person here. It's time for you to get over being so conflicted, and just do the things that you do best. What you do best is what is right, not what is easy. If you're not strong for these people, then the ones they lost sacrificed for nothing. And you're not alone. I'll help too, and so will the teachers and the healers. You don't have to do it all yourself. Start with Ginny, I'll start with Ron, and we'll deal with others as we have to, all right?" she said.

"You know what, Hermione? If Mom and Dad had lived long enough that I had been given a sister, I could only pray that she would be like you," he said. And standing there, under the cloak in the downpour, they threw their arms around one another and stood there in the rain for the longest time, comforting each other.

By the time of the service, the strong north wind had blown at least some of the rain away. Several of the wizards conjured up a huge white tent over the dais and the chairs set out on the lawn. Warming spells made the air inside a little more comfortable. Hermione and Harry found the Weasleys just outside the entrance, and without saying a word, Harry took Ginny's hand and Hermione entwined her fingers with Ron's.

Molly Weasley was sobbing quietly as Bill and Charley helped her down the aisle towards the front; Arthur and George Weasley had their arms around one another, both pale and drawn. Even the beautiful Fleur, who might have been challenged to look bad even if it had been her own parents going to the grave, was obviously pale.

Harry had been asked to speak, and had reluctantly agreed. So after the Ministry wizards offered up their many types of prayers and memorials, he found himself standing in front of the assembly.

"You know," he started, "I could just say thanks and go sit back down, but somehow that just doesn't seem like enough. So I want you all to know a little something about what I discovered the last year, and what I saw when I was nearly dead, and why I believe now what I believe. I hope it will help some of you feel better about these sacrifices.

"I'm just a kid, barely of age. But when Riddle hit me with that second killing curse, and it drove out of me the little part of him he had never meant to put there, I saw what a part of a divided soul looks like. Believe me, it isn't pretty, and if it hadn't been part of the most evil wizard who ever lived, I would have felt so, so sorry for it.

"So, now I believe we all have a physical part, and another part that is really who we are. And I believe that when our physical part dies, the other part moves on to somewhere else…maybe to a place of peace, or maybe to a place with new loves and new adventures. And I think if you divide up that soul, if that's what it is, then you never really can move on, and when you die, you really are gone for good.

"So that's the difference between Tom Riddle and the loved ones you lost in this war. He is gone forever to the thing he feared the most…death. But they live on, in our memories and in the next new thing. And I know it's true, because I have had the chance to see them…my parents, Dumbledore, Sirius Black and some of the others…and take my word for it…none of them are complaining," Harry said with a sad smile. "We may miss them here, but there is a very good chance all of you will see them once again."

As Harry returned to his seat, Arthur Weasley rose and threw his arms around him, grabbing his hand and shaking it. Molly Weasley hugged him tightly, whispering thanks in his ear. And when he reached her, Ginny pulled him into her embrace and kissed him with all her heart and soul.

Hermione, Harry and the Weasleys then took Fred's body back to the Burrow. By turning the coffin into a port key, all of them were able to move virtually instantaneously to the yard outside the house. The funeral had been carefully planned in keeping with some of the old wicken ways. The priests spoke about the tradition of witches and wizards living hand in hand with nature.

"All of us come from stardust," said an old wizard. "When the universe was put in motion by whatever gods there are, all the elements needed for us to exist were created, and those elements are just as eternal as our souls. Even as the part of us that makes us who we are moves on to another plane of existence, so the elements that make up our bodies are recycled and become a part of other life here on Earth. Our ceremony celebrates the act of moving on. It does not mourn an ending, and what we do now only accelerates what would happen with or without our help. This only starts Fred's new, exciting journey."

With that, George Weasley came forward, and working a spell he had been taught by the elders only the day before, he converted the casket and the body of his twin into golden sparklers of light and energy, and set them free into the heavens.

Perhaps the saddest moments were yet to come. After the Weasley family placed a stone in their garden in memory of Fred, all of them apparated to the Tonks home. Andromeda Black Tonks, now a widow, had possibly lost more in the war than any other single person. Not only had Ted, her husband, been tortured and killed by Death Eaters desperate to find Harry, but her daughter and son-in-law had both been killed in the Battle of Hogwarts.

For the first time, Harry was able to hold his godson, Teddy. Looking into the face of the tiny baby, whose hair continually changed colors to match his moods, Harry could not help but remember the sadness both Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks carried with them, as the both believed that obstacles between them would keep them apart forever. And he could not help but remember the beautiful look on Lupin's face that night at Bill's cottage when he came to tell them Teddy had been born.

Tonks and Lupin were buried in a more traditional muggle-type ceremony in the graveyard near their home. Old legends said that a werewolf could not be buried in hallowed ground, but the wizards knew that was untrue. Harry probably felt the loss of these two more than any others. When Riddle had accused him of letting others do his fighting for him, he knew some part of that was true, and he knew now that this pair represented the many who had sacrificed themselves so that he might have the chance to fulfill the prophesy.

With Ginny standing on one side of him, her hand in his, and Hermione and Ron on the other, holding hands with Hermione's other arm around Harry's shoulder, the little group of mourners got through the graveside service. By now, the rain had finally stopped completely, but as they all looked into each other's eyes, they were wetter still as the young heroes of the wizarding world sadly turned and walked away.


	4. Book 1, Chapter 4, Acts Of Retribution

BOOK 1, CHAPTER 4: ACTS OF RETRIBUTION

Living off the land for nearly an entire year had changed Harry, Ron and Hermione. Harry had grown taller and stronger; over six feet tall and nicely muscled. When he moved, his body seemed to flow like a river. His once round face had elongated handsomely, and he now looked much like his father with his square solid jaw. During their travels, Hermione had learned to trim his hair into a much more manageable cut, and as soon as he could, he traded in his old black-rimmed round glasses for a much more flattering style.

Likewise Ron, having reached 18, now looked like a man instead of a boy. He was a strapping six-foot-three, and by cropping his red hair shorter, managed to have it look more like burnished copper than flame. His face was still craggy and his complexion still freckled, but now he was what the girls liked to call "ruggedly handsome" instead of looking like a living Alfred E. Newman. Ron had developed a broad frame to go with his height, and like Harry, his Quidditch training and survival skills had given him a totally athletic appearance. His arms were long, his hands were huge, his fingers long and delicate; and his rangy legs covered a lot of ground when he walked.

By contrast, a year of eating mushrooms and scrounged food had left Hermione much thinner. However, the result was to make her much more attractive. Her face had thinned out so that now her high cheekbones were emphasized. Over the years, her once frizzy hair had turned curly as she let it grow longer, and she had learned to manage it in very attractive ways, so that if fell in dark waves that framed her lovely face. Her lips were fuller, and that tended to de-emphasize the two little scars under her lower lip, the reminders of a childhood witching accident when she had put her teeth through it.

Never very athletic, constantly moving around the country had toned her muscles. Her arms and legs were now very attractively muscled and shapely, and if she had cared to show off her stomach, the boys would have quickly realized how sexily fit she was. She was now curvy in all the right places, with boobs just about the right size for her small five-foot-six, 110 pound body, and hips that looked like they were made for child-baring. She had become interested in running, and was keeping up her tone with regular runs with Ginny.

Ginny Weasley had also filled out most attractively during her sixth year at Hogwarts. Always under the gun while trying to act like a normal student, but lead Dumbledore's Army in the resistance movement, she too had shed all her girlish baby fat and turned her body into that of a toned, athletic woman. She had continued to play seeker for the Gryffindor house Quidditch team, which left her with a pair of the shapeliest legs any witch had ever used to put a spell on Harry Potter. Her red hair now streamed down her back all the way to her butt, and like Herminone, her round little cheeks had receded enough to let her beautiful facial structure show through.

About two weeks after the funerals, owls arrived at the Burrow to notify the friends, and the Weasley family, when and where the trials of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy would take place. In addition, Arthur Weasley, who had returned to work at the Ministry, told Harry when the hearing for Draco had been scheduled.

Since Harry had set Kreacher to work cleaning up and remodeling Grimmauld Place, all of them decided to move there until the trials were completed. Then, since it did not appear Hermione would be needed in England until school started again, she planned to go to Australia to find her parents.

Harry and Ginny had spent the two weeks at the Burrow getting their relationship back on track. Truly, it wasn't hard. While they might have pretended to be apart, and it might have been hard at first on Ginny, in truth they had always been a couple. Long walks along the hills and heather near the Burrow gave them time to explore one another and their true feelings. When Harry held her, and kissed her deeply, it seemed as if it was the only thing that had ever really mattered to either of them. They had time now to talk about the things they liked and hated, the things that they believed, and the things they dreamed of doing with their futures.

Ginny wanted to complete her seventh year at school, and hoped for a career in professional Quidditch. Harry intended to follow his dream to become an Auror after going back to Hogwarts. Both of them agreed that they would establish careers before thinking about marriage.

In the meantime, Ron Weasley's dreams were coming true. Deeply in like with Hermione for seven years, he was amazed to find how sincerely she now seemed to love him back. For her part, Ron finally showing how much he truly cared had swept Hermione off her feet. The only catch was that she still was not as certain as Ron. For one thing, there was a secret from fourth year she had not yet shared with anyone, not even Ginny. She was terrified what the effect would be when Ron found that out! For another, very quietly, she was still torn somewhat between Ron and Harry, and her love for both of them. She knew Harry loved her only as a sister, and that Ginny was the woman for him. Still, that didn't quiet the little longing for something more she felt in her heart. She thought to herself that she was ready to love Ron, but not ready for commitment.

The four moved to Grimmauld Place in mid-June. It was nice in London that spring, and even the old Black mansion couldn't dampen their spirits. For one thing, Kreacher had managed to brighten the place up considerably. He had somehow managed to get Mrs. Black's portrait moved into the room with the family tree, where, if she was concerned about half bloods and muggle-borns living under her roof once again, at least they didn't hear her screaming. He had repaired the burned portraits of the family members that had once been considered to be blood traitors, and had brightened up all the rooms considerably.

Harry had the girls share the largest room, which had once been the master bedroom, because it had its own bathroom. He took Sirius' old room, and because Ron snored, put him in Regulus's old bedroom.

They partook of Kreacher's wonderful cooking in the kitchen, and then spent several long evenings together. It was actually the first time in several years that the friends could just sit around and laugh and talk. They caught up on the latest music, and Hermione taught them all how to use muggle radio and television.

They watched the football World Cup on television, and marveled at how much it was like Quidditch played with feet. But they couldn't understand how anyone could stand to watch it because there was no scoring, and no snitch. They listened to "Frozen", "My All", "The Boy Is Mine", and even "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It".

When they tired of watching "Friends" and "EastEnders", Ginny suggested they try something they had heard about on radio and TV called "clubbing", so Hermione took them all shopping for muggle fashions. Harry and Hermione had lived for eleven years with muggles, so they had experience with muggle clothing. The Weasleys, on the other hand, were amazed at the concept of style, and all four of them loved the loose fitting casual party clothes they selected. On Saturday night, they hit the hot spots, and danced until dawn.

For as good as he was at Quidditch, Ron sucked at dancing. Ginny and Harry, on the other hand, soon found they loved to dance with each other to slow and moderate tempo disco like "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing", "Deeper Underground", and "Believe". Too often, Ron found himself sitting alone at the table watching his sister and best friend, while Hermione was constantly being asked to dance by strangers. Frankly, it was just his usual lack of confidence. Ron was always afraid he would look like an idiot trying new things. But he was able to content himself with the knowledge that she was going home, eventually, with him, and their laughter and easy conversation was so much fun. They danced and drank the night away, being able for the first time in almost four years to relax and just have fun together. As Harry and Ginny swayed to "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing", Hermione finally was able to drag Ron on the floor, and as the music ended, she kissed him, and whispered "thank you" in his ear.

On Sunday, they all slept in, and agreed later at breakfast that it had never felt so good to have just an ordinary life!

On Monday, the trials began. All four of the friends were called as witnesses against many of the Death Eaters. The proceedings took place in the Ministry of Magic, deep in the bowels of the place, in the same room, Courtroom 10, where Harry himself had once been put on trial for underage use of magic. This courtroom was largely circular in shape, stone walls lit by torches, with high rising seats on both sides of the dais where Kingsley Shacklebolt presided. Wizards and witches of the Wizengamot were seated here, and Percy Weasley was slightly off to the side in his role as Scribe.

Most of the trials were quick and perfunctory. Often, it was just a matter of Harry or one of the others being called on to identify someone they had seen trying to fight on the dark side. There were exceptions, of course. Hermione was called, and spent a great deal of time testifying to what she had seen Dolores Umbridge doing, both in her year at Hogwarts, and while terrifying half-bloods and muggle-borns during the blood purity inquisition. Ginny also spent a great deal of time on the stand testifying about the actions of Dumbledore's Army during the resistance, and how the Carrows had treated students at Hogwarts.

Harry, of course, spent more time testifying than anyone. For one thing, it was the first time he had taken the opportunity to tell anyone other than his friends about how he had spent the year on the run. Choosing his words carefully, so as not to give any of the truly dangerous secrets away, he told the governing witches and wizards about the quest Dumbledore had assigned him, and how he and his friends had carried it out. Since he, more than anyone else, had seen most of Riddle's followers at one time or another, he had many more identifications to make. He also needed to explain, as best he could without mentioning the Elder Wand, or the other two Hallows, how he had survived the killing curses and defeated the evil wizard. Harry, Hermione and the Weasleys had spent several evenings working out plausible explanations, and making sure they all had their stories straight.

As the week went on, eventually, it came time to deal with the Malfoys.

"Mr. Potter, can you please give us your overall impression of the role the Malfoy family played as supporters of Tom Riddle," asked Shacklebolt.

"Well, let's be clear about one thing," Harry said. "Lucius Malfoy was a Death Eater to the end, even if he chose not to fight against us at Hogwarts. Lucius started out thirsty for more power for his family, but by the end, he was terrified of Riddle and just trying to keep them alive. But for all the time I knew him up to then, no family caused me more trouble or put more obstacles in the way of the prophesy.

"Now, since then, I've had a chance to talk to him, and I think I believe he has had somewhat of a change of heart. I think it's in his nature to try to survive and get the most out of any situation he can, so I don't know how genuine all his changes really are. Lucius is a ruddy git who deserves whatever he gets, and he knows it.

"Narcissa is a different story. In the first place, I'm not sure she would ever have been a Death Eater if she wasn't married to Lucius, and didn't have that insane Belletrix Lestrange for a sister. I actually never saw Narcissa commit a crime or cast a spell against anyone. I think her only motivation was love for her son, and anything she did, she did to try to protect him.

"Here's something you won't know," Harry continued with a very serious look on his face. "When I went into the forest with every intention of dying, and Riddle tried and failed for the second time to kill me, he made Narcissa go to my supposed corpse and check to see if I was really dead. She made a really good job of it too…even dug her nails into my chest to show that I couldn't flinch. So, in that moment, she saved and protected me, because Riddle certainly would have finished me off if she had told the truth.

"I know she didn't really do that for me," Harry said with a smirk. "Her only goal was to get Riddle to let her in the castle so she could find and rescue Draco. But you see, that's what made it possible for me to get another chance at Riddle, so in a way, she helped us win the battle."

It came as no surprise that the trials ended with most of the Death Eaters being given very long terms at Azkaban. Some of the surviving main supporters even received life sentences. Lucius Malfoy was one of those. The fact that he was already convicted once, but had returned to the Death Eaters after the mass escape, weighed more heavily against him than any change of heart he might have displayed.

Narcissa did not entirely escape prison. She was sentenced to six years for her roles, but it was clear the officials had taken Harry's stories into account. More interesting was a secondary ruling that came in relation to Narcissa's sentence; the Ministry placed Draco Malfoy on six years probation with the condition that he would be under the control and guidance of Arthur Weasley and Harry Potter!

"Who do they think they're really punishing?" Harry exclaimed to Mr. Weasley when he heard about that one.

"Not my idea of a fun time, either!" complained Arthur to Molly.

"Yeah, and they're even going to let the git back in school?" Ron asked with a nasty look on his face.

And that became the next question.

Once the Wizengamot decided not to send Draco Malfoy to prison, the remaining debate centered on was whether or not he should be re-admitted to Hogwarts. Most of the Slytherin students, including Pansy Parkinson, Gregory Goyle, and those others from the families of the Death Eaters, had already been told they could not come back. However, Harry said that if he was going to supervise Malfoy's probation, he wanted him at school.

Two years under the control of his father and the Dark Lord had not done Draco Malfoy's appearance any favors. The stress of constant fear had worn even more weight off his already thin frame. His complexion, unusually fair to begin with, now was pallid and pasty. His grey eyes were dull, and his platinum blond hair had not been looked after while he had been held at the Ministry.

The Hogwarts Board of Directors, out of consideration for Harry and his friends, decided to hold the hearing in London, and so they brought Draco to 12 Grimmauld Place on the first day of July.

Harry spent a great deal of time talking to the Directors and McGonagall, who had by now been appointed permanent Headmistress, about the kind of boy Draco had been at age 12, how he had tormented them through sixth year, even breaking Harry's nose on the train to school that September, and how he had saved Draco's life, dragging him from the Room of Requirement after Vincent Crabbe set it on fire.

"Draco took no part in the fight from then on," Harry said with a smirk, "because he was off hiding somewhere, cowering in fear. I think this was a key moment in his life because he had to make a choice. He could have chosen to take a chance that Riddle would win and fight on the dark side. He could have chosen to fight with us. In fact, he was too afraid to do either.

"Now some may see that as lacking any redeeming value," Harry continued, with a nod in Draco's direction. "To be honest, I see it as showing him as a blank canvas. He's a bright guy, you know. I think he's second only to Hermione in our year where brains are concerned. So much of what he had thought and done, up to that point, had been drilled into him by his family, and I don't think he ever had much of a choice until the day of the battle. I'm not sure you can blame him for not knowing what to do.

"I've had the chance to talk to him since then. It seems to me that he has made a choice, and that choice is to renounce his father's ways and try to rebuild a good reputation for the Malfoy family. Also, I'm pretty sure he's not acting. Since the Wizengamot wants me to look after him, and since my friends, whether they like it or not, are going to help out, I think we need to keep him close. We are all going back to school, and that's where I think Draco needs to be," Harry concluded.

For his own part, Draco was near tears many times during his interview. His accounts of how Lucius had abused him as a child, and how Narcissa had looked the other way were particularly moving, even if some members of the Board didn't entirely believe them. "Always was a manipulative little creep," one was heard to whisper to another.

"Potter asked me awhile ago if I was willing to help rebuild Hogwarts," Draco said, glancing at Harry for confirmation, and Harry nodded. "He asked me if I understood that many things about Slytherin were going to have to be changed, and I know that now, probably better than anyone. I will promise all of you that if you give me another chance, I will be part of the solution. In fact, I have decided to complete my independent coursework in muggle studies, of all things. I want to work in international relations. I think I have plans and goals on the right side of the law, now. Harry and his friends are not yet my friends, but I am going to work on those relationships, too.

"Am I going to give up on my mother and father?" Draco concluded. "No, I'm not. But I am going to do everything I can to change their view of the world if you will give me a chance. I can do no more today than beg for that chance, and as you know, begging does not come easy to my family."

The Board was split, but in the end the fact that McGonagall said she would like to have Malfoy back at Hogwarts carried the day. Harry sent an owl to Narcissa Malfoy in prison. The note was only two words. "We're even".


	5. Book 1, Chapter 5, Journeys Of Discovery

BOOK 1, CHAPTER 5, JOURNEYS OF DISCOVERY

A couple of days later, Hermione began to make her plans to go find Wendell and Monica Wilkins in Australia. She spent a few days learning how to use the muggle Internet, and cast a few finding charms as well. Soon she had enough information to narrow down where her parents, formerly known as Neil and Joanne Granger, were living and working.

"Of all things, it looks like they have settled near Darwin in the Northern Territory," she said with a grin. "Good thing, too, because it's winter there now and it's warmer in the north. I'm going to need a visa, and they say you have to wear sunscreen all the time because the sun is much stronger there than in England."

"You would know if anyone," Ron teased. "By the way, you know I'm going with you, don't you?"

"Ronald!" she exclaimed, and rushed to throw her arms around him once again.

"Love, after all the journeys we've already shared, I think we've earned one that's more of a vacation," Ron said, giving her a big kiss. "Besides if you think I'm going to let you go off by yourself and flirt with all those Aussie lads, you've got another think coming. You and I have spent enough time standing one another off the past seven years. And by the way, Little Miss Know-It-All, just how do we get there?" he asked with a big teasing grin.

"Well, we can't apparate or use a port key. Unfortunately for us, most of our magic travel spells will only work in Europe, because the locals don't want wizards and witches sneaking in and out of their countries," Hermione said. "You, my dear Ronald, are going to learn how to fly without a broom. Your father is going to be soooo jealous of you!" she added with an impish chuckle. "We are going to travel on a muggle airplane!"

Ron tuned white. "What!" he exclaimed. "You mean one of those big winged machines that falls out of the sky about as often as they get to where they are supposed to be going! Brilliant!"

"Yep," she said. "We're going to be spending 22 hours with British Airways or Qantas, depending on whether or not we want to feel at home or get a taste for the colonies. Do you think you can stand being inside a flying machine instead of riding on the outside? You know, I'm never entirely comfortable on a broom, so I'm going to like it. But you…well, it will be a new experience for you, won't it?"

"Uh, well not entirely," Ron said with a grimace. "You might remember that Harry and I flew my dad's enchanted Anglia to Hogwarts second year."

"Yeah, and I almost fell out of the bloody thing," Harry laughed. "Saved our hides in the forest, though, when the spiders wanted to get us."

"Had to bring that up, too, Harry!" squealed Ron with a look of terror on his face as the tips of his ears turned red with embarrassment, and he remembered the talking giant spider Aragog and his children. "I still don't like spiders!"

"Yeah, I did," said Harry, giving his best buddy a friendly whack on the arm.

"Ok, I'm game, Hermione. If you can put up with it, I can too. Besides, we'll be together, right," Ron said with a big smile.

"First we've got to buy some tickets and get passports and visas. That last part will need a little help from the Ministry. I've got a birth certificate, but most of you purebloods don't have official English birth records, you know," Hermione said. "And Harry…I've got a really really big favor to ask. Can you lend us some gold? I set some apart last summer, but it's not nearly enough."

"Hey, you know you guys can count on me for anything," said Harry with his broadest smile. "Be a pleasure to visit our old friends at Gringotts again. I'll bet the goblins will have a few choice words for us after our little raid on the Lestrange vault. Heck, we probably even owe them a dragon!"

"Actually, I've been wanting to talk to the two of you about this. I don't know how aware of my situation you are. My parents left me more than enough for several generations of Potters, even if I never work. The Blacks were the richest wizard family in England, even more than the Malfoys, and Sirius left everything to me. And now, the Ministry wants to add a cash prize as a reward.

"I told them I wouldn't accept a knut unless each of you got an equal amount. In addition, I've talked to Bill Weasley and set up a trust fund for each of you for your kids. You will each also have a monthly allowance from the Black investments. And, Ron, before you start arguing, I've made up my mind, and everything is already done except for your signing some papers and picking up your vault keys.

"I've also arranged for Ginny, Luna, Neville, and few other DA members to receive stipends, so please don't feel like I'm singling you guys out."

With their financial futures assured no matter what the future brought, it came to pass in late July that Harry and Ginny dropped Ron and Hermione off at the airport, hugged and kissed them goodbye, and watched the big silver bird carry them off on their adventure. Harry and Ginny apparated back to Grimmauld Place, and it suddenly dawned on Harry that this would be the very first night he had ever spent completely alone with her.

"Kreacher, could you come here please," Harry said when Ginny slipped upstairs to use the bathroom. "I want to do something really special tonight, my friend. Can you whip us up the most special and romantic meal you've got in your recipe file? Then I think we shall go dancing, and when we get back, we are going to want some real privacy. Think you can manage all that?"

"Kreacher lives only to serve his Master," croaked the old house elf.

Harry ran upstairs. "Hey Gin," he called through the door, "put on your best dress and your dancing shoes. Let's go do a little more clubbing after dinner," he invited.

"Ohhh, Harry, you wild romantic!" the redhead crooned back.

Kreacher outdid himself at dinner. He set the formal dining room with the best china and crystal. He served Tornadoes Rossini, roasted fingerlings and asparagus. A bottle of '89 Mouton Rothschild graced the table. He served Harry's favorite treacle tart for dessert, and then followed it up with Stilton cheese and small glasses of Chateau d'Yquem, the sweetest nectar known to man or wizard.

"Could wean me off pumpkin juice forever," laughed Ginny as she leaned in close to Harry, and they toasted one another.

Harry wore a black turtleneck and a grey jacket over black slacks. Ginny had chosen a green party dress that set off her red hair perfectly. Cut to show off her cleavage and ending at mid-thigh, Harry supposed he had never seen anyone so beautiful in his whole life. They dropped in at several hot clubs, dancing to "Cruel Summer", "Deeper Underground", and "Horny". Anyone who looked could see how well they fit together, how tuned in to one another they had become. A few more dances, a couple of pints, a lot of laughs, and they made their way hand in hand back to Grimmauld Place.

When they stepped inside, Harry grabbed Ginny and spun her around. He wrapped her up in his arms and took her mouth, hot and hard. She thrust herself against him. As his tongue pushed against her lips, she opened to him, and hers met his in a hot, wet duel. Harry gasped with surprise, and Ginny moaned with pleasure.

"Harry," she whispered. "I don't want to sleep alone. Can I spend the night with you tonight?"

"Are you sure you want to do that?" he said, nuzzling her neck. "I'm not sure you're going to get any sleep if you do. I'm pretty sure I'm not going to plan on sleeping," he said with a laugh.

"Oh yeah, sweetheart…I've never been more sure of anything in my life," the beautiful girl responded, and once again their lips met in a soft but savage kiss. Holding hands, they practically sprinted up the stairs to the master bedroom the girls had been sharing. Harry tossed his jacket over a chair, they both slipped off their shoes, and Harry enchanted several candles into soft flames. Another wave of his wand, and soft pop music filled the room, and they wrapped each other up gently in one another's arms.

Harry kissed her behind her left ear, and was rewarded with a moan of pleasure. "I love you," he whispered. He tongued his way down the side of her face, and found a sensitive spot on her neck. Nipping at it gently, he felt her toss her head back to give him better access. His licking and gentle biting brought a gasp of pleasure from her once again. "I love you too; I always have," she answered.

Ginny had her arms wrapped around Harry, and pressed her body into his. She could feel him responding against her leg as she brought it up between his legs and began to thrust against him. He sucked his breath in with the thrill of her touch, and grew hard against her. He found her mouth again, and they devoured one another with a hunger built up over too many months of sacrifice. Now there was no need to hurry, and time stood still for them. "I've been waiting for this such a long time," Harry said. "Let's just relax and take all night if we want to."

He pulled away. She softly pouted. "Ginny, I'm not even going to have the slightest idea what to do," Harry said, a little bit embarrassed at the admission. "I'm woefully ignorant about love.

"Well me too, Potter!" she said with a laugh. "What did you think…I was some sort of wanton tramp just because I dated a few boys at school, and snogged a couple of them? That was just something to keep busy while I waited for you to come to your senses. I've had a thing for you since I was 10, after all! I haven't got any more experience than you have, so I guess we'll just start off learning together. Actually, sounds like it might be kind of fun!"

She reached down and pulled his turtleneck up over his head. He slipped the straps of her green dress off her soft shoulders, and let the gown puddle around her feet. She stepped out of the middle, and did a little pirouette in front of him. "Like what you see, boy?" she asked, her eyes twinkling. "Umm, no complaints on this side of the room," Harry said with a big smile.

They fell into another embrace, and her hands worked their way down to his belt. Loosening his trousers, she let them fall to his ankles, and then drew a gasp of pleasure from Harry as she reached inside his boxers and brushed against his erection. She began working her other hand over his toned muscles. He backed her towards the big bed and pushed her over on her back, landing on top of her. Their mouths found each other once again, opening, sucking, exploring.

"Art could never do you justice," he said, raising his head. For her part, Ginny let her eyes roam over Harry's trim, athletic body. Without a word, she reached out and captured him again. "I guess we just do what comes naturally," she said.

He worked magic on the clasp of her bra, then slid his hands under the silky fabric. He thumbed the nipples, feeling the little nubs grow hard under his touch. She spread her legs and he fell between them, and she could feel his arousal begin to rub against her secret places. She had never felt such pleasure. Suddenly, Harry stiffened and let out a guttural growl. "Oh…Ginny…God!" Through her knickers, she felt the warm wetness.

"Sorry. Couldn't help that," he said sheepishly. Ginny was also a little embarrassed, but she saw at once that he was still ready for her. He stood up and removed his boxers, her bra, and the damp panties. For the longest time he stood over her, looking down on her beautiful naked body. She reached out, captured his manhood, and drew him to her.

He began to work at pleasuring her. He suckled each breast, then moved down to her navel, and then even lower until he brought gasps of pleasure from her. "Don't stop!" she moaned. "Please don't ever stop," and then she tensed all over, and nearly came up off the bed as she found her first release.

Harry let his hands roam up her soft warm body, and continued higher until he found her mouth once again. Positioning himself between her thighs, he tested her opening with his fingers and found her wet and hot. He pushed her legs wider apart. "Tell me as soon as it starts to hurt, and I'll stop."

"Like hell you will! Would you stop talking, and just get on with it Potter," she giggled. Slowly, he began to push inside her. He found her lovely green eyes with his own emeralds, and they locked onto one another. He could not believe the sensations.

"Merlin," he gasped as her wetness began to pull him in. He pushed a little deeper and found a little resistance. "How is it?" he asked her. In response, she pushed her hips up off the bed to meet his thrust, and he felt the maidenhead surrender.

"I love you so much," he said, giving her time to adjust to the novelty of his being with her. "I don't know. I think maybe this is the only way I can really tell you and show you how much." At first slowly and then with a quickened pace, the lovers explored each other, until their world exploded in unimaginable pleasure. For a few more minutes he lay still against her, as they both caught their breath, and then he felt himself start to recover.

"I love you Harry Potter." Ginny said. "I don't know what I've done to deserve you, but I'm never letting you go again." They had shut out the whole world now, and only the two of them existed.

"Umm. For two people who don't know much, I think we've done Ok," she said. as they explored each other once again.

Deeply satisfied, the lovers curled themselves around one another and drifted off to sleep in the early morning. Neither one had ever been happier or more content.

A couple of days later, Harry learned that the Dursleys had returned to England. The news came through from the Ministry of Magic, which had been watching and protecting them during the war.

While Harry was not exactly anxious to see his aunt, uncle and cousin again, he felt an obligation, so he asked Ginny if she would go along with him for company. The two had scarcely been out of each other's sight since Ron and Hermione left. They apparated out to Surrey, and Little Whinging, then walked hand-in-hand up the walk to the front door of Number 4 Privet Drive.

"Bet you didn't know how I spent 11 of my worst years and five of my most unhappy summers in this place!" said Harry, making an ugly face. "Actually, the boys told me a little about it," Ginny said. "It must have been awful." "Not much fun," Harry agreed, knocking on the door.

A few moments later, it was swung open by a thin woman, with a long, horsy face. "Hello, Auntie," Harry smirked. Her eyes snapped wide in surprise. "You!" she exclaimed. "I wondered if you'd have the nerve to drop by. Vernon, guess what the wind's blown by," she called back into the house. A moment later, rotund Vernon Dursley popped his head out of the sitting room. "What is it, Petunia? Oh. You, boy, come to try to freeload some more, have you?"

"No, actually I thought we might just pop by and see if you came through ok," Harry said. "I don't want anything from you, and frankly probably won't care after today if I ever see either of you two again. Also, I wanted you to meet Ginny Weasley. You've met some of her family already, but I wanted you to meet her because I hope she's going to be my wife some day. And finally, Aunt Petunia, I wanted you to know that over the past year, I've learned all about you, and my mother, and Severus Snape, and how much you wished you could have gone to Hogwarts too. Do you know you are still just about the only girl who ever wrote the school and begged them to let her in?"

Petunia started to turn very red. "That's just not true, Harry," she screeched. "What a cruel thing to say. I never wanted anything at all to do with Lilly and her special kind. The only reason I was jealous is because our parents were so proud when she got her letter, and I felt so left out. But…be a witch! You must be mental. They used to burn your kind at the stake, you know!" she shot back.

"OK, we don't need to go there, I suppose," Harry said. "I just wanted to make sure you guys were all right. I didn't want to cause you any more trouble than I already have. Where's Dudley?"

"He's out with his friends right now," Vernon said. "No need to bother yourself about your cousin."

"Yeah, right," Harry said. "You guys take care, and tell him I stopped by. Tell him if he needs to get hold of me…well, I suppose he might find it hard. Look, here's my muggle address. Please give it to him," and Harry slipped Petunia a piece of parchment. "Too bad you guys don't know how to use owls," and he shot Vernon, who had always hated the birds flying in and out of his house, a meaningful look.

With that, Harry and Ginny turned to go. "See you, maybe," Harry shot back over his shoulder as they walked down the pristine path.

Out on the sidewalk, Harry turned Ginny towards the park because he wanted them to get out of site before apparating back home. But as they turned the corner, they ran smack into none other than Dudley Dursley.

"Whoa! Big D!" Harry exclaimed. "Harry?" Dudley was a little quicker than usual, considering his surprise. "Hey, cuz, what's up?" Harry said jovially. "Did you like the trip?"

"Uh, not really. Scared pretty much all the time until they said we could come home," Dudley said.

"Yeah, well I'm sorry about that. That trouble just kind of found me, Dudley. I didn't go looking for it."

"Yeah, guess so," Dudley said. "Who's this?" he said, looking at Ginny, perhaps a bit hungrily.

"She's my girlfriend, Ginny Weasley. Ginny, this is my cousin Dudley, son to those two people we just met," Harry said.

"Oh, you saw Mum and Dad then?"

"In a manner of speaking; still not exactly my biggest fans."

"Sorry about that Harry. Fact is, I'm sorry about a lot of things we did to you. Really wasn't fair, was it?" Dudley said.

"Think nothing of it, Big D. We can't go back and take some other path. It was what it was, and it's turned out ok for me. Are you going to be all right?"

"Don't know for sure, Harry," he said. "I don't have a clue where to go from here. That's one reason I envy you so much now. I guess you know what you're going to do with your life, huh?"

"Yeah, pretty much, Dud." Harry said. "Look, we've got to be going, Ginny and I, but I'm glad we ran into you. I left my muggle address with your Mum and Dad. Don't let them keep it from you, and try to keep in touch, ok."

"Ok, thanks Harry…good to see you again, I guess."

And with that, they were gone. As soon as Dudley turned the corner, Harry and Ginny held hands and apparated back to Grimmauld Place.

"Wow, Harry. The family and Hermione all told me how badly you'd been treated, but I had no idea," Ginny said.

"Yeah, well I used to live in a cupboard under their stairs," he said. "But finding you and loving you has made everything that ever was bad in my life worth it, because it all brought us here to this time and place." And they wrapped their arms around one another, and went upstairs and made love again on the big bed.


	6. Book 1, Chapter 6, Another Train Ride

BOOK 1, CHAPTER 6: ANOTHER TRAIN RIDE

The second week of August, Harry and Ginny heard a loud pop on the front sidewalk, followed by loud knocking on the front door. When Harry threw it open, he was buried in a blur of arms, curly auburn hair, kisses on the cheek and long burley arms slapping him on the back.

"We're back," shouted Ron Weasley with a big smile, and Ginny came running to throw herself into her brother's arms.

"I would never have guessed," said Harry wryly, his mouth turned into a big smile. "Welcome! Everything go OK?"

"Well, Jo and Neil now remember they have a daughter, if that's what you mean," Hermione said. "But they wanted to stay in Australia…they sort of like it there. Actually, Ron and I kind of liked it too, but I guess we'll be staying here for the present."

"Umm. Great, uh, but we might have to make a couple of adjustments in the sleeping arrangements," Harry said a bit sheepishly. Ron looked at him accusingly. "Been having a go at my baby sister?" he said, as the tips of his ears began to turn pink.

"Not that it's any of your business, Ronald, but I have not left his bed since the night you guys left. You didn't really expect me to sleep alone in this big house, did you?" Ginny said, a touch of pride in her voice.

"Uh, not a problem, Sis!" Ron said, noticing that Ginny seemed to be thinking about her bat bogey hex. "Had to happen sometime, I suppose. I guess Hermione and I can continue camping out in the same room. She's been sleeping on the bed and I've been sleeping on the floor for a month. I guess we're used to it by now."

"Well, you might want to try something else," his sister shot back.

They had moved into the sitting room by this time, and Kreacher had brought tea and sandwiches. "Now that we've got that straight, there are some owls here for you guys. And speaking of mail, here comes another," Harry said as a large brown owl swooped in from the kitchen. "Looks like this one's for me," he said, tearing open a parchment addressed in the familiar hand of Minerva McGonagall.

_Dear Mr. Potter:_

_It is my pleasure to inform you that I have decided to appoint you as Head Boy for this term. Please be sure to meet me in the Entry Hallway as soon as you return to school so I can brief on your duties and get you settled in your quarters. I have made this decision because I know everyone at the school now looks up to you as their leader, and because I know you will be able to get along with, and work closely with, the Head Girl, Miss Granger._

_Yours with great respect_

_Minerva McGonagall, Headmistress_

"Wow!" exclaimed Harry. "Guess who's going to be Head Boy!"

"And guess who's going to be sharing Head's Quarters with you!" smirked Hermione, looking up from one of the letters Harry had handed her and glancing sideways at Ginny. "Yeah, I saw that," Harry said. "Gin, are you going to be ok with this?"

"Very. You know what, sweetie. I suspect we Weasleys may just be spending as much time in your apartment as the two of you!" she said. "Very private in there, I hear," she added with a grin.

"Next order of business," Ron said with a laugh. "Dad sent an owl, and says we're invited to the Quidditch World Cup Final again next week. It's in Germany this year, you know. And," he added with delight, "the English have knocked the Bulgarians out this time, so it's going to be England against the Krauts. We're all going to go, aren't we?"

"Well, I don't know, Ron. How did that muggle air travel stuff work out for you?" Ginny asked teasingly.

"Oh, not so bad once I got used to it…and believe me, I had plenty of time to get used to it!" her brother replied. "Shut up for 22 hours in one little tin can drive anyone mental, wizard or muggle. At least we got one break to stretch our legs…and if I had to be shut up, at least it was with Hermione," he said, taking her hand. "You know, I don't think there's anyone in the world who can make time pass more quickly than you, honey…she knows so many things to talk about," he added with a wry smile.

"You used to call it prattling on mindlessly, and being a know-it-all," Hermione said with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "Things change with love, I guess," he replied a bit sheepishly.

"But we won't have to use airplanes to go to Germany," Hermione said. "We can apparate or use port keys all over Europe, so I suspect we'll just want to pop over and back for the day. I don't know about you guys, but I've got more than a lot of shopping to get ready for school. And by the way, what are we doing about Draco?"

"I've been having him drop by once a week to report what he's up to," Harry said. "He really has changed a bit. He's still pretty arrogant, and he still tries to manipulate, but some of that is just in his nature. As my Uncle's stupid sister used to say about her bulldogs, breeding will tell. But he's making an effort to be nice, and he doesn't refer to Ginny as a blood traitor any longer. I told him to skip the next couple of weeks, and then we'll meet him at King's Cross Station on the first."

"Under control then?" Ron questioned. "So far, so good. Let's see what happens when we get back to school," Harry replied.

The four friends set to work answering the owls, and stowing away Hermione and Ron's gear in the other big bedroom. Since the travelers were very tired from their flight, they stayed in that night, partaking of Kreacher's excellent onion soup. The next few days were a blur of school and World Cup preparations, but they found time a couple evenings for clubbing. Hermione was still put off by Ron's shyness about dancing, but managed to have a good time anyway as there was always someone wanting to show her a new step or two. It was pretty clear that as much as he enjoyed his friends' company, going to dance clubs ranked pretty high on Ron's list of least favorite things to do.

Arthur Weasley sent them their World Cup tickets and an England supporter's scarf as a port key to take them to the site. He included instructions on how to find the family tent so they could all meet up there. At the appointed time, all of them grabbed hold of the scarf and felt that familiar tug at the back of their navels as they were dragged off into the swirling who knows where. Now that they were far more experienced with this form of travel, they knew when to let go and were able to land on their feet. As they had four years before, they came down on top of a hill, overlooking the Rhine River to the west, and a huge tent city, hidden from muggle eyes by numerous enchantments, to the east. The whole Weasley clan was inside the tent, waiting for them, and a few glasses of butterbeer and fire whiskey later, the happy group set off for the game.

"You know, it's been 200 years since the Golden Lions have been in the final," Ron said, once they had found their seats. As usual, Arthur Weasley had come through with top tickets, and their group was seated high up in the stadium. "We got knocked out by Luxembourg in '94, but the Irish came through for us then. Can't believe I was so taken with that git Krum that I rooted against them." Hermione blushed at the mention of that name. There were still a couple of things about Viktor Krum she was not yet ready to share with her friends.

"Look, there's the Lions," shouted Ginny, pointing below as a pride of golden lion mascots burst from the players' gate. A mix of male and female, the great felines sprinted around the pitch, and then, with a flourish of trumpets, transformed into the players for the English National Quidditch Team. "Wow!" she breathed out. "Harry, do you think I could do that some day?" she asked her boyfriend. "Honey, I think you can do anything you want to do," he said.

"Here come the Germans," said George Weasley. A giant Iron Cross flashed into the sky, canons sounded, and Wagner blared over magically amplified speakers. In tight formation, the black clad Quidditch warriors flew into the stadium, while below, their mascots, a dance troupe of Valkyries, performed.

After the pageantry, the match itself was a bit of a letdown. The English performed miserably, possibly due to the pressure of history, and they were already down by 190 points when the German seeker Schumacher caught the snitch, mercifully ending the torture for the England supporters. However, the Weasley group had a great time being together, and the kids decided to spend the night in the tent before heading back.

"Harry, dear, can I see you minute," asked Molly Weasley, indicating with a nod that she meant in private, outside. "How are you and Ginny getting on?" she asked bluntly once they were outside the tent. "Uh, well, uh, you know I love Ginny very much, don't you Mrs. Weasley," Harry replied nervously. "I had hoped so," she said, "but I've also always wondered about you and Hermione,"

"Hermione and I are more like brother and sister. I've always loved her, and I always will love her, but for some reason we've never had that other kind of attraction for one another. It's not like her and Ron at all. They've always wanted one another, but it just took them seven years to figure it out," Harry said with a laugh. "You know, Hermione and I also feel like we're a part of your family, and I think that you can be real sure we won't ever do anything to hurt your children. As for Ginny, well, I don't know exactly when it's going to happen, but if she will have me, I plan to marry that girl!"

Molly smiled, and wrapped Harry up in her arms. "I don't think it matters very much, Harry dear, how you join the family…I know you're always going to be a part of it for Arthur and I. And we couldn't ask for a better boyfriend for Ginny…you two just better give us lots of grandkids when you get around to it!" she laughed.

"Well, the night after the match was sure a lot more fun than last time," noted Ron after their return to London the next day. "Much more pleasant without a bunch of Death Eaters marching through the camp, burning tents and torturing muggles!"

"Yeah, and no dark mark in the sky terrorizing everyone, either," Hermione added.

"It has been a great summer, overall," said Harry, with a meaningful look in the direction of Ginny Weasley.

"Couldn't have asked for better," the redhead replied with a twinkle in her hazel eyes. "Oh, maybe a little adventure. You have to admit, after what we went through the last four years, it's hard to break the habit of being scared all the time."

"We had our adventures," said Hermione. "Ron and I saw some of the world, and that was pretty exciting. Safer, but still exciting."

Over the next week, the friends spent their time getting all their school supplies in Diagon Alley, packing their trunks, helping Kreacher clean up Grimmauld Place, and shopping for some more muggle clothes. One night, as they sat around talking, there was sudden green glow in the fireplace, and Minerva McGonagall materialized into the sitting room. "Good evening to you all," said the Headmistress. "I trust you are nearly ready to return to school and begin the term?"

"Yes, Professor!" they all exclaimed. "How nice to see you again," Hermione said with a big smile at her favorite advisor.

"I am so sorry to disturb your free time," she said, "but I must have a talk with Miss Weasley. All of you are free to stay if you wish. This is important, but it's not a secret. Ginevra, as you may know, each Quidditch World Cup year is also a year for the Tri-Wizard Tournament, now that it has been revived. This year, the tournament is going to be held in Salem in the United States. Hogwarts is of course, the defending champion, so we get an automatic invitation. The other schools will be Salem Academy and the Aztec School from Mexico City, the 'Sun Gods', as they like to call themselves.

"Unfortunately, since Mr. Potter has already won the cup once, he may not participate again. Besides, I have asked him to be Head Boy, and he has agreed. Therefore, I am asking you, Miss Weasley, to captain our delegation. This does not mean you will be participating as the Hogwarts Champion; we will be sending a delegation of 20 students who will spend the year in Salem. All and any of them will be free to put their names into the Goblet of Fire, and it will determine the three Champions as always," McGonagall said.

"Wow," exclaimed Ginny. "Pretty hard to turn that offer down!"

"Whoa," cried Harry. "Ginny, that's pretty dangerous. And I thought we had plans for this year? I don't know if I want you running off to the US."

"And I don't know exactly how much you have to say about it, Harry Potter!" Ginny said defiantly. "You don't own me, at least not yet. And I think we were both going to be much too busy at Hogwarts anyway to own each other, so I don't think this is a bad idea at all. You know, being apart only makes the heart grow fonder. And Ron has already had his chance in an airplane. I think it's my turn!" she said with an expression that told Harry he would be well served to keep any more opinions to himself. "Of course, Professor, I'm honored, and I'll do my best to represent the honor of Hogwarts."

"Then it's settled. You will meet the rest of your team next Monday at the airport. That's the last day of August, so all of you will be able to come and send the team off with your support," McGonagall said with enthusiasm.

After McGonagall flooed back to the school, the four friends sat around talking excitedly about Ginny's great opportunity to see America. Even Harry eventually got into the spirit as he began to see the value in the journey. "And you've got to make time to get down to New York City," Hermione said. "I studied it in muggle school, and you know it's pretty much the economic capital of the world. And the theatre, the hotels, the museums, the shopping, especially the shopping! You're a lucky girl, Ginny."

"And you can check out American football," Harry said. "It's even more like ground Quidditch than rugby. And the part of America you'll be living in is called New England, and it's full of wizard and witching history. I think I'm going to be jealous after all, so you better not find any of the other competitors attractive," he said with a meaningful look towards Hermione, who blushed.

After awhile, they all grew tired as it was late, and so they all went off to their rooms. As Harry lay with Ginny, he asked her again if she was sure she wanted to go, to be apart almost a whole school year. "I don't like that part at all," she said, "but I can't pass up this opportunity, and don't think you should ask me to."

"Ginny, I love you way too much to deny you anything you want, and I can see you want this. Just remember, no matter how far apart, I will always love you."

Looking into her eyes, he brought his lips softly to hers. They were warm and giving, and she kissed him back hard. Their tongues fought the familiar, intimate duel, and soon both of them were moaning and panting with desire. No matter how many times he kissed her, no matter how many times he touched her, no matter how many times he was inside her, no matter how many thrills and how great the pleasure, both wanted more from each other.

As Harry gently thumbed and pinched her nipples, Ginny reached down and grasped his erection with her soft, smooth fingers, and began to stroke his shaft. Harry lifted his head in a gasp of pleasure as she teased him. He began to try to slide down her body, but instead, she quickly reversed their positions so that her knees were on both sides of his head, and her face was at his waist. Opening her mouth, she took him in.

"Oh, Merlin, what a view," Harry said. And raising his head, he was able to return the pleasant favors. Kissing each other in this, the most intimate way possible, they both exploded in ecstasy. Then, turning around again, their lips met once more and each tasted the other, and Harry thrust inside her. Moving slowly at first, then with more urgency, he began to bring them the pleasures of that hot warm friction.

The outside world, already long gone, ceased to matter at all, and all they cared about was one another and the pleasure they could give and take. He felt her sheath tighten around him, her arms and legs tense, and then heard her cry out with the release. He let himself go now, and both of them were floating, and watching her eyes go wide and then come back, he knew no matter where in the world she went, they would always love each other like this.

Hermione, Ron and Harry took Ginny to the airport in a muggle taxi. Harry held her for the longest time, not really wanting to let her go, not really wanting to hold her back. Then she and the rest of the team were walking down the gangway. She turned, put her fingers to her lips, blew him a kiss, and she was gone.

"You going to be all right, mate?" Ron asked.

"Not really," Harry said, feeling sick to his stomach from the sense of loss. "Let's just get going, OK? I suppose the sooner we get to school, the sooner she comes back to me." Hermione threw her arms around him and hugged him. Then his best friends helped him get back to the house and finish their packing.

The next day, they pushed their trolleys through the barrier at King's Cross Station between Platforms 9 and 10. As always, Platform 9-3/4 was wrapped in steam from the giant red locomotive that would pull the Hogwarts Express on its journey north to the school.

"Well, where is he?" Hermione asked with annoyance in her voice.

"Oh, he'll be along all right. Malfoy's idea of on time is about one minute before he has to be somewhere," Harry said. "Listen, you guys. As I've told you before, Malfoy may want to change his stripes, but it hasn't come all at once, and it's not going to. It's not an overnight conversion. He's still going to be arrogant, annoying, and unbelievably spoiled. He expects to get what he wants, and he's still Slytherin in the way in which he goes about getting it."

"Talking about me behind my back, Potter?" whined a thin voice from behind them. Out of the mist, a rail thin blond young man appeared, a frown on his narrow face. "I was hoping you'd give me a chance to make my own first impressions this year."

"Actually, I'm just trying to make sure my friends give you a fair chance to do that," Harry said.

"Brilliant. Just brilliant," Malfoy said with scowl. "But I suppose I'll have to learn to put up with it since you are now my keepers." He relaxed a little. "Look, I really do appreciate what you've done for me, and what you've taken on. I know this is ten times better than a prison cell. It's hard for me to say thanks, but thanks for this second chance. I'm going to try to deserve it."

"What have you done with the real Draco Malfoy," asked Hermione with a sparkle in her eyes.

"I guess I deserve that after the way I've treated you in the past," Malfoy said.

"Well, yes, no-brainer there!" she replied.

"OK, supposing we can actually trust you now, what are your plans?" asked Ron, unable still to get the suspicion out of his voice.

"My immediate plans are to gather up my school things, toss them on the train, and find a compartment so I don't get left behind. If you folks will join me, maybe we can more fully discuss the future on the train. Or would you rather find another enchanted car, and try flying there again?" Malfoy said, winking mischievously at Ron.

The four gathered up their trunks and other carry-ons, and quickly found an empty compartment near the front of the train. As Head Boy and Head Girl, Harry and Hermione were expected to move through the train, helping younger students find seats, stow their gear, and find anything they had misplaced.

"Funny, isn't it Harry," Hermione said. "The first time I ever laid eyes on you, I was trying to help Neville find his toad!" They chuckled. "And speak of the devil…and, Oh My God!" A few yards ahead, Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood were walking towards them, hand in hand with the easy familiarity of two people who had progressed way beyond being friends.

"Thought we'd find you guys up here," said Neville with a big smile.

"Hi Harry! Hi Hermione!" exclaimed Luna, rushing forward to gather them both up in hugs.

"Humm. Looks like you two have had a, shall we say, interesting summer," said Hermione with a great big grin.

"Yeah. Very good friends, I'd say," exclaimed Harry.

"Well, we did get to know each other a lot better, and I'd say that has had its benefits," said Neville with a self-satisfied grin.

"Gotta love a man who takes you hunting for striped-horn mountain Minotaurs," she said lovingly, wrapping her arm possessively around Neville's waist. "And you gotta love a girl who can show you where to find green root snapcracks," he added, returning the hug, and giving her a little pat on the tush.

"Oh, barf! Cut it out, you two," exclaimed Hermione with a huge big grin. "Look, we have a compartment way up front, if you don't mind sitting with Ron and Malfoy. Harry and I have Head duties this year, so we're off to round up Prefects and get things organized."

"Malfoy?" questioned Neville suspiciously.

"Well, yeah," said Harry. "I'll explain more later, but I got them to let him back in school, and in return, they sort of made me his keeper."

"That sounds appropriate. Do we need to keep our wands trained on him the whole way, or anything like that?" Luna asked.

"Naw. I think he's going to be Ok, at least for the time being. He's still in the throes of reform, so he's making an effort," Harry said. "You still have to make allowances for the way he was brought up, but if I didn't believe he genuinely has changed his philosophy of life, I wouldn't have bothered with the wanker.

"Listen…see you guys a little later, OK. Hermione and I have to get on with this, or we'll be to Hogwarts before we get the Prefects organized. Do us a favor, will you? There was another open compartment right across from ours. Can you make sure you save it so we can hold the Prefects meeting there?" Harry asked.

"Sure," said Luna with another brilliant smile. "See ya later,"

"Well, there's a happy couple, and I do mean couple," said Hermione. "Might as well be married," Harry said with a grin.

Hermione and Harry didn't have much trouble finding the Prefects. Ron had been appointed Boys Prefect for Gryffindor, and Lavender Brown the Girls. "That ought to be interesting," Hermione noted with a chuckle. The Ravenclaw Prefects would be Luna and Michael Corner, so Harry was suddenly glad that Ginny wouldn't be at Hogwarts this year. Since Slytherin would be a very small house because most of the former students had not been re-admitted, McGonagall had asked Harry to let Malfoy be the Prefect. Harry thought that would be a good part of the overall plan to rehabilitate Draco, and had agreed. Since Susan Bones and Ernie Macmillan both had come back to complete their seventh year, like Luna, McGonagall had kept them on as Hufflepuff leaders.

There were a few other summer romances to take into account, and the meeting area was bit crowded, but Harry and Hermione were able to get things organized rather quickly. "It sure seems like everyone is a whole lot happier without a bunch of dark magic threats hanging over their heads," Harry said. "You think?" said Hermione and Ron in chorus.

With that meeting over, Hermione, Ron, Harry and Draco moved across the corridor to their own compartment.

"Malfoy, I've got to be straight with you," said Harry, "the only way this is going to work is if these two help me out, and if you get along with all three of us the same way. It isn't going to work if you make up your mind you can work with me, but you can't get along with Ron or Hermione. And since Ron and Hermione are together, you are going to have get along with both of them."

Malfoy was looking at Hermione. "You know, I never really had much of choice, Granger. My father taught me early that the old families were good, that muggle born wizards and witches stole their power from us, and that pure blood families who accepted muggles were blood traitors. In my family, money and power were everything, and love had little or nothing to do with it. If you didn't have money or power, you were bottom feeders. Weasley, I know I gave you a lot of trouble,"

Ron snorted derisively.

"But it was nothing compared to the way I disrespected Granger. I'm hoping we can all get to know each other. I don't think we even start to really know one another, do we? I want to look at both of you in different ways. That can only happen if I spend time with you guys, and if we talk and share ideas and find out where one another come from. I don't know if we can ever be friends, but if there's a chance, I'm going to try for it," he said, and there truly was a much warmer tone to his voice.

Harry noticed, however, that throughout the entire meeting, Malfoy could scarcely keep his eyes off Hermione.

Together, the four made plans to reunite Hogwarts. A lot of it had to do with de-emphasizing the House Cup, and planning more inter-House social events. The biggest job, they all agreed, would be rebuilding Slytherin into a House that worked with, instead of against, the others. Harry hoped the Sorting Hat would understand, and sort the more ambitious students a bit more evenly.

By the time the great red train rolled into the Hogwarts Station, Harry felt they had made a great deal of progress accepting one another. In fact, he actually felt that Malfoy might turn out to be a huge help during the coming year. As they heard Hagrid calling out, "First 'ears ova here!", Harry, Hermione, Ron, Draco, Luna and Neville climbed into an empty coach, and started the next journey.


	7. Book 1, Chapter 7, Hermione's Tale

BOOK 1, CHAPTER 7: HERMIONE'S TALE

Draco Malfoy could not believe himself. What in the world had gone on during that train ride? What in Merlin's name had they even been talking about? How could he have allowed himself to become so distracted? For six years, he thought he had hated the Granger girl, even if he told himself it was because of the accident of her muggle birth. Why had he stared at her the whole way from King's Cross? She wasn't beautiful. She's way too thin, almost anorexic, he thought. Her face is like the blade of a hatchet, he had tried to convince himself. What's with those two scars under her lower lip? Somebody punch her in the jaw? There had been times, especially during third year, when he had wanted to punch her in the jaw! Why was he suddenly tuning out everything but her?

And what was with the clenching feeling in the pit of his stomach? Surely it was just nerves at returning to Hogwarts. Wondering if he really could turn his life around, if he could be accepted after causing so much trouble. He looked at his left arm. The mark was fading, but it was still there.

And Merlin's Beard! How had Potter managed to get him under his control? When Draco had decided that he needed to change his life, he had counted on Potter's support to get him out of trouble, but he had not counted on having the person who had once been his greatest rival and enemy as his jail keeper! Well, he would just have to make the best of that. If he wanted to be friends with all the kids who had been in that so-called Dumbledore's Army, then the road to that ran through Potter, Weasley and Granger. And while he might be changing his philosophy in regards to muggles, light and dark choices, and interpersonal relationships, he was still a Malfoy and a Slytherin, used to getting what he wanted, and trained to know how to get it.

So, what comes next, he asked himself. On the train, they had proposed rebuilding the Slytherin House along somewhat different lines, and since he was basically the only returning Slytherin, that would be up to him as Prefect. It was supposed that among the hundred or so first years, the Sorting Hat would place 20 or 25 new students, about half boys and half girls, into Slytherin. It would be up to Draco to provide their orientation and House training, but he knew that Potter and Granger, the Head Boy and Girl, would review everything he did.

So he would take it slow, and he would show how much he wanted to co-operate by presenting his plans to them each day for approval. This would have two advantages. They could not claim he was working against house unity, because he would keep nothing secret. More important, it would bring him into close proximity with them each day, which would make it much easier to become their friends. And to spend time with Granger.

What!

Where had that just come from? Why had he just overtly expressed interest to himself in spending extra time with Hermione Granger? She had been insufferable. Forget her birth. That no longer put him off. She was a know-it-all bookworm, the only person in his year who could rival his own academic achievements. She had a boyfriend, and given the status of Ron Weasley, a pretty appropriate boyfriend at that. They deserved each other, in all the positive and negative ways that had caused them to come together. But they did argue all the time.

That was another problem. Why was he attracted to someone so strong-willed as Granger? He was used to getting his own way. Why would he even think about being with someone who would have a will of their own, and who would be brave enough and strong enough to stand up for what they wanted and believed. Draco knew he would be much better matched with some simpering girl who was only interested in his looks or his physical equipment, and who didn't mind being ordered around. Still, the idea of being involved with a girl who had a mind of her own was intriguing. But not Granger; he could do much better and he would. That Luna Lovegood was much more attractive, and it seemed to him that she was much more malleable.

So, finding out who his charges would be was the first order of business. Then he would have to show them how to get to the Slytherin Common Room and dorms, and get them settled. They had already talked about this on the train ride. Also, he had been instructed to have them mix in with the other houses at the first night feast, instead of sitting together at the Slytherin table. He supposed that was a good move, as the House would look pretty weak with only a few students seated at their table, and it would give the new kids a chances to make some cross house friends right away. Draco entered the Great Hall, and waited for the sorting.

Meanwhile, Harry and Hermione met Headmistress McGonagall at the foot of the Great Staircase. "How are you?" she exclaimed, dropping her usual formality for just an instant, and hugging both of them. "Did you have a good train ride? Have you got all the Prefects organized? Is Malfoy behaving? Let's get you two settled as quickly as possible, and then your first duty will be to lead in the first years for sorting.

"As you know, you two share a common room, and each of you has your own bedroom and bathroom off the shared common. Next door is the Prefects' bath and fitness center, which I believe, Mr. Potter, you have already had occasion to use. Then each of the Houses has a small Prefects' Office, which is just down the hall from your quarters.

As she talked, McGonagall was leading Hermione and Harry up the stairs and down a hall on the fifth floor, at the opposite end from the teachers' wing, past the statue of Boris the Bewildered. At the end was a beautifully ornate pair of French doors with a male symbol on one and a female symbol on the other. The doorway was sealed by an infinity symbol across the gap.

"For the moment, an alohomora charm will open them," McGonagall said, "Just tap the infinity with your wands…together this time, please. But the first time you leave, you two must agree on a password, and for the rest of the year, either of you will be able to open the doors with your wand and that password. Only your wands will work, no matter who else might find out the password."

Harry and Hermione opened the doors. "Now, one of the fun things about your quarters is that they operate very much like the Room of Requirement. I know that both of you are familiar with that! That means your rooms and the common room will react to what you want, and give you what you need. For example, as you see, the room is decorated right now in dark red and gold, your Gryffindor colors. You can change the scheme, in all or part, simply by wanting it, but you must both agree. Also, Miss Granger, I'm sure you have noticed that there are numerous bookcases, and that they are already stocked with the books that you believe you will need or be interested in. Mr. Potter, your necessary books are also here, but you no doubt have far less reading material than Miss Granger," McGonagall said with a huge grin. "I think you will find, however, that is an area set aside for Quidditch supplies, planning and team meetings!"

"Your trunks and all the things you brought with you this term have already been placed in your bedrooms," McGonagall added. "Miss Granger, your room is to the right, and Mr. Potter, yours is to the left. Now I want to make one thing very clear. Tradition has it that we select the Head Boy and Head Girl pairing for reasons of demonstrated leadership and compatibility. We have sometimes in the past selected a couple like Penelope Clearwater and Percy Weasley, but in your case, we have chosen you because your relationship is so much like a brother and a sister. I know there is a blooming relationship between Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley, but I have chosen to use him as one of the Gryffindor Prefects. And of course, Mr. Potter, Miss Weasley is in North America this year.

"The point of this is that you may both entertain whoever and whenever you want. We expect as leaders, you will both frequently entertain together and privately. But please respect one another's privacy to the extent necessary," McGonagall concluded.

"Now, it is time we return to the Entry Hall so that you can lead the first years in for sorting," she added. "I want to congratulate both of you on this honor, and thank you for accepting it. Now, let's get to work!"

Harry and Hermione were smiling grandly as they led nearly 100 first years into the Great Hall, stopping just before the raised platform where the old Sorting Hat stood on its stool. The sorting went pretty quickly this year, as the hat had very little to say beforehand, except for offering its congratulations to those who had stood against the Dark Lord, and hoping that the new students would follow their example if called to do so. So it went that Armas, Christy; Brush, Angus; Stern, John; Fuller, Robert; and 21 other first years were sorted into Slytherin. Malfoy quickly beckoned them to the Slytherin side of the Hall, and then he divided them among the three other tables for the night as he had been asked to do.

In the meantime, the Hat placed Howell, John; Butler, Chrissie; Rosen, Courtney; MacDonald, James; the Brown twins, Sally and Molly; and 18 other first years into Gryffindor to raucous applause. Along with 19 more, Abbot, Winifred; Diggory, Lilly; Jones, Mark; and Zeller, Richard, were sorted into Hufflepuff, while Davies, Michael; Corner, Barbara; and Turpin, Elizabeth; were siblings of current students included with the 22 new Ravenclaws.

As usual, the first years gasped as McGonagall waved her wand and the impressive feast appeared on the golden plates before them. The Headmistress made the usual announcements, and after everyone had eaten their fill, the Prefects took charge and showed the new students how to find their House and how to use the passwords. All in all, it was a relatively normal start to the new school year at Hogwarts.

The next few weeks passed relatively uneventfully. Harry and Ron were fairly busy choosing and training the Gryffindor house Quidditch team, and operating under a fairly tight schedule. Since Slytherin could not field a Quidditch team, being made up entirely of first years, it had been decided that each of the other three houses would play one another in each of the three school terms. That meant the first matches were right around the corner.

With Ginny competing in the US, Harry would have to return to his seeker position. Ron was continuing to have outstanding practices in goal, his confidence seeming to grow with every passing day. Harry thought it was obvious that Ron's relationship with Hermione was a big factor in his being more settled and focused, but he wondered how far they had actually progressed because Ron never stayed overnight in the Heads Quarters. Harry wondered if Hermione really felt the same way about Ron that he felt for her, or if she was still conflicted and uncommitted.

In the evening, Harry and Hermione played hosts to numerous other seventh years and the various House Prefects. All seventh years at Hogwarts declared an individually designed advanced placement program, either to prepare themselves for a career or some form of advanced education. Hermione, for instance, was concentrating on Arithmency, Potions, and Transfiguration. Needless to say, Hermione could also be pretty boring when she got started on these subjects, but she did manage to get everyone's attention one evening when she announced her intention to study for a couple of years in muggle universities. "I think I would like to start working on unification theories of muggle physics and the physics of magic," she said.

Since the Head Quarters common room acted like a room of requirement, anyone studying there could find the necessary texts and research materials on the Heads' library shelves. For advanced students, this actually made Harry and Hermione's common room more valuable than the Hogwarts library. For that reason, Draco Malfoy was among the constant visitors. Of course, Harry would have required Malfoy to appear at least a couple times a week as part of his probation. But, whatever the motivation, Harry was surprised that he never actually had to express this requirement to Draco.

Unknown to the others, Draco found himself with some additional motivation to frequent the common room. He found he enjoyed studying with Hermione Granger. In fact, he found he had growing difficulty being away from her. In the past, he had seen her as a cute but annoying rival whose blood status put her off limits; then he tried to tell himself she was not pretty at all. However, as his goal to overcome his prejudices grew in importance, she became a focus point, and as a result he began to notice that she was far more physically attractive than he had thought.

Even more important, he found that he really enjoyed talking to her. All the other girls at school, particularly the pure bloods, had always seemed like shallow airheads to Malfoy. He had always known that Hermione was as smart, or perhaps even more intelligent, than himself. Now that he was spending nearly every evening around her, he was amazed at her depth of thought and understanding as they discussed history, philosophy, and wizard science.

Malfoy had taken the advice of his father to heart, and was carrying a significant course load in muggle studies. He was also doing his independent study in the area of international relations. Since Hermione had grown up as a muggle until age eleven, even going to muggle elementary schools, she was suddenly just about the most valuable resource Draco had in trying to catch up with a subject he had never before seen as important.

"Hermione, tell me about muggle wars," Draco said one night. "I know why wizards fight. It's all about power and control. Is it the same in the muggle world?"

"Sometimes," she answered, "but it's really more complicated for muggles, I think. The last big war, the World War as they called it, was certainly about power and control. In fact, it was very much like our war. There was a muggle named Hitler who used a belief in a certain type of blood superiority to seize power and gain followers. Then he tried to take over the world so he could impose his ideas on everyone. Millions of people died before it was over.

"But lots of muggle wars are over other things. Most of them are either over religion or land. In muggle religions, many times, there is a belief in an absolute right and wrong. Religious zealots believe that their religion is right, and that everyone else is wrong because they are non-believers. The largest religion in the world, Islam, preaches that its followers must try to convert everyone else. In the past, muslims have fought wars and taken over countries to force the citizens to convert, whether those people actually believed in and practiced the religion. These days, muslim extremists use terror tactics to try to force governments to accept the religion.

"The Christian religion, the next biggest, hasn't been much better when it comes to forcing people to convert. It was the Christians who burned witches and wizards at the stake. Many horrible things have been done to innocent people in the name of one religion or another."

"Isn't it silly to try to force people to say they believe in something they won't actually practice?" Draco asked.

"Of course it is!" Hermione exclaimed. "What do you think would have happened if Riddle had taken over? Many people would have agreed to go along with him out of personal fear. They would never have actually agreed with his philosophy, but they would not have been strong enough to publicly oppose him. That's what a lot of people in the Ministry did during the war.

"The other kind of muggle war that happens frequently is over land. Back in the dark ages, and in the days before organized civilizations, people lived in tribal systems. Tribes took control of the land where they lived, and fought with their neighbors over the boundaries. In some parts of the world today, these disputes have never been settled. There are many places where one ethnic group claims the land that another ethnic groups actually holds and governs. Every so often, these disputes boil over into a war. And these are often the most terrible of muggle wars, because one group will try to exterminate the other.

"There is always a cycle of killing and revenge connected with this type of war. If my tribe takes over your land and kills some of your family members, the survivors swear revenge. Some day, their descendents may be strong enough to strike back. As these conditions have escalated over the centuries, some tribes have figured out that the best way to prevent their enemies from seeking revenge is to wipe them out. So, they not only win the battles, but they line up the civilian survivors, and try to kill all of them. It's called ethnic cleansing. It's kind of a combination of what Riddle had in mind, plus the dispute over the territory," Hermione said.

The more they talked, the more Malfoy found that he was becoming mentally and physically attracted to the young woman.

For her part, Hermione seemed to remain blissfully ignorant. When she wasn't studying or debating with other students, it was most usual to see her tucked away in a corner of the common room with a book, or snogging a bit with Ron Weasley. She seemed to have no idea about the fiery demons that flared up in Malfoy's gut each time he had to watch them making out. On the other hand, when she headed up to her room alone, and Ron headed back to the Gryffindor Tower, having gotten no further than kissing in the corner, Malfoy couldn't help but believe that Granger was still more on the open market than widely believed.

Ron Weasley had a keeper's dream in the first Quidditch match against Hufflepuff. Although the match lasted four hours and seventeen minutes until Harry Potter finally caught the snitch, Ron managed to stop every single shot aimed at his goal. A shutout in Quidditch is virtually unheard of, so needless to say, Ron was carried off the field on the shoulders of the Gryffindors, to the tune of "Weasley Is Our King", and the celebration in the burgundy and gold House common room went long into the night.

Word gets around quickly in the Quidditch world, so it was no surprise that the guest stands were full of professional scouts when Gryffindor was scheduled against Ravenclaw in late November. Since Ravenclaw had also defeated Hufflepuff in the other first round match, this one would determine who would hold the lead at Christmas. Once again, Ron was simply outstanding, and he needed to be. The weather was terrible, a north wind blowing snow and freezing rain like a jet stream above the stadium, but swirling unpredictably at ground level inside the stands. To make matters worse, the Ravenclaw keeper was also having a good game. While her saves were not as spectacular as Ron's, Linda Romano was an unfortunately large girl who took up a lot of space in front of the rings.

Since few of his first years were interested in Quidditch, Draco Malfoy knew he was not going to be building a team in his last year. He had taken the two boys who seemed interested under his wing, and they held some informal practices so Draco could stay in shape and teach them the fundamentals. That way, he could appoint them as captains the next year, and they could try to recruit enough players for a Slytherin House team, weak although it would be. He asked them to accompany him to this match, and as they were walking down to the stadium, they encountered Hermione, who asked them to join her in the stadium section set apart for the Heads and Prefects. Since this was a great honor for first years, Angus Brush and John Fuller gladly agreed.

After nearly six hours of play, which had become more like a water torture for the people in the stands, the score only stood at 50-40 Gryffindor. Harry had only played in one other game as horrible as this, and it was worse because it also featured dementors. But he still had only glimpsed the snitch once, and it was long gone by the time he got near the spot. He was starting to pray that someone would spot it soon, even if it were Jim Daniels, the Ravenclaw seeker. And suddenly, there it was! Just a tiny gold reflection, low and to his right. Harry sent his Firebolt 5, the newest and fastest broom yet, diving and sweeping towards the tiny gold ball, and in an instant, had it in hand. The match was over; Gryffindor was undefeated for the term!

When they landed, the team wanted to rush Harry, but Harry headed straight for Ron. "Ron, you were unbelievable again!" shouted Harry. Then the red and gold crowd arrived, and they were both hoisted onto friendly shoulders. In the stands, Hermione had cheered Ron for every save, but when Harry caught the snitch, she couldn't control herself and grabbed Draco Malfoy in a huge hug, and then was totally stunned when he suddenly kissed her! Quickly pulling away from each other, they stared for a moment, and then both said "Sorry!" virtually at the same moment. "Just got caught up in the excitement, I'm afraid," said Draco. "I know," Hermione said with a smile returning to her lips. "Wasn't it fantastic?"

"Fantastically wet," he said. "Let's get back up to the castle and dry off before your housemates drink up all the fire whiskey."

"Good plan," she said. "Do you want to come up to the Gryffindor common room for awhile…you can bring the kids along as long as none of you try to steal the password!"

"Ehh? We're Slytherins! Would Slytherins do something like that?" Brush laughed.

Taking no chances, Hermione made them wait down the hall while she whispered "dragonbreath" to the fat lady. The round portrait swung forward, and they joined the merriment inside. Hermione quickly introduced Fuller and Brush to some first year Gryffindor and Ravenclaw girls who were already well along on their butterbeers, then she and Malfoy found Harry and Ron celebrating with their teammates. "How about a few fingers of that fire whiskey for your finest fan club," Draco said. "Ron, you were incredible again!"

"Thanks, Malfoy. Coming from you, that's just about the highest compliment I could get today," Ron said. "But guys, guess what! There were scouts here today, and two of them want me to try out for their teams! Can you believe it! Me, of all people, with a chance to turn pro ahead of two fabulous seekers like Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter. If Ginny was here, she would turn green, absolutely Slytherin emerald, with envy," he said, as his sister was the best seeker ever to play at Hogwarts, and it was common knowledge that she had every intention of turning professional.

"Speaking of my sweetie," Harry said with a big smile, "I got an owl from your mum and dad just before the match. Guess who is in second place right now in the Tri Wizard?"

"Really? Are you kidding me? What was the first challenge?" Ron asked.

"I don't have a lot of details, because it comes through your mum and dad, and they have to get it through the muggle telephone since owls won't fly that far," Harry said. But you know those Americans…all souped up on their dark arts and colonial history. I gather it had something to do with pirate ships, dead men's' chests, and pirate treasure. Supposedly Ginny lost a few points to the American boy because she didn't bewitch the right weapon quickly enough, but she beat the priest from Mexico because he didn't have enough pirate lore in his history."

"And you guys make fun because we like to read books," Hermione exclaimed. "Honestly. Boys!"

Around eleven, Hermione, Ron, Harry and Draco decided to go to the Heads common room for nightcaps. They asked Luna Lovegood, Neville Longbottom and Susan Bones to go along, as Hermione had been trying unsuccessfully to get her interested in Draco, and Neville and Luna always got on well together.

Soon, Harry and Draco were engaged in their usual deadly match of wizard chess, while Ron and Hermione snuck off to a corner for a little snogging. Luna, Neville and Susan all had a drink, then Luna and Neville walked Susan back to her dorm since she was no more interested in Draco than Draco was in her.

Harry had just castled when Hermione shrieked, "Ronald, please keep your hands where they belong!"

"Jeez, Hermione, I'm sorry!" Ron said. "I though if you love me so much, this just might be a good night to move forward a little bit. It's been such a great day and all."

"Ron, I'm sorry. It's not you, it's me," Hermione said, and tears actually started to form in the corners of her dark eyes. Harry got up and walked over to them.

"Something gone wrong?" he asked sympathetically. Draco joined them.

"Ron, Harry, there's something I need to tell you guys. You've been so patient with me when I've been so weird the last two and a half years. Draco, you may not know this, but during the first Tri Wizard Tournament, I kinda fell for Viktor Krum. I had always liked Ron and Harry since first year, but I could never really choose one over the other, and Ronald was always so damned shy and backward. He never could get it together to ask me to go anywhere with him, except once or twice when he thought I wasn't popular and needed a date. When the Yule Ball was announced, I wanted him to ask me. I even went into Hogsmeade with his sister, and we both picked out these wonderful dresses, but Ronald never gets a subtle message!"

"Oh, thanks a lot my dear," said Ron. "Back at you, you know."

"Point taken," she said. "Anyway, it looked like Ron wasn't going to assemble enough courage to ask me, so when Viktor did, I told him I would go with him. Then one night, Ron does his 'Hermione, you're a girl,' act and asked me, and I had to tell him I was going with someone else. And the prat didn't even believe me!"

"Anyway, Viktor and I went to the Ball and had a great time. We danced all night, and were just about the last to leave. Viktor kissed me, first real kiss ever, and then when I headed back upstairs to the dorm, Ronald made some gross comment and ruined the whole thing for me, and I ended up crying my eyes out on the staircase! I was not happy about that, and Viktor came along and found me, and took me for a long walk. It was cold out, so he gave me his fur cloak, and then the next thing I knew, I was in his arms and we were snogging our hearts out.

"So we dated the next term, which is why the Tournament picked me for Viktor to rescue from the lake. And we dated some more, and he was such a gentleman, so I really had a thing for him by the end of the year. And it was a plus that Ron was not very good at hiding how jealous he was, so it was working both ways for me.

"Anyway, after the tournament, everything was so confused," Hermione continued, and the tears started again. "Cedric was murdered. Everyone thought Harry was lying about Riddle, and some even thought that he had killed Cedric in the maze. And of course Ronald had his little fling with Fleur and Gabby, so when Viktor gave me his address, asked me to write him, and maybe even come to see him over the summer, I thought that would be a brilliant idea.

"Then, to make it worse, Dumbledore got concerned that Riddle could read Harry's mind, so he wanted all of us to separate so that Harry wouldn't know any secrets about the Order of the Phoenix for the Dark Lord to steal. So at that point, it just made sense for all of us to go separate ways until it was time for school to start again. Harry went back to the Dursleys, Ron went with his parents to headquarters, and I took Viktor up on an offer to come visit him in Bulgaria. Ron, this is the first time I've told you where I was before I met you at Grimmauld Place. And the reason is because I didn't want you asking any questions about Viktor Krum and me."

"Well, thanks so much for trusting me with that!" Ron said sarcastically.

"No, wait…there's more," she sobbed. "When I got there, he was so nice at first. We explored the country all the time, and went clubbing. Viktor loves to dance, and is quite good. For me, this was the first time I had been so much on my own without anyone looking after me, and I got caught up in the freedom of it all. Remember when you asked me fifth year who I was, and what had I done with Hermione Granger? Well, the truth is I left her with Viktor in more ways than I wanted to explain. I learned how to break the rules, and that it's fun to break them, but I learned there are consequences.

"One night, Viktor raped me." she said, and the pain of the statement wracked her body, as all three boys suddenly had to throw themselves around her and wrap her up in their love. "He wasn't gentle about it, either.

"We had been dancing, and drank too much muggle liquor, and instead of going back to the guest quarters, he took me to a place he kept in the village. An apartment that the Bulgarian National Team keeps for him in town. I thought we were just going to talk, and we did for about a minute.

"Then he was all over me, telling me how much he wanted me, and how I had to go home because practice was going to start, and how he was going to make me his first. And he started tearing off my clothes, and he was way too big and strong for me to fight much without my wand, which I had stupidly left in my room. I told him no. And then it hurt a lot, and he was inside me, thrusting and grunting like a rutting horse, and my head was spinning, and I was crying and telling him no, and he didn't even care! And then he just went to sleep!

"So, I pushed him off me, got dressed in what was left of my clothes, and went back to the guest house. I packed right away, and I bet I was out there before he ever woke up. I don't know, because the next time I saw him was at Bill and Fluer's wedding, and he just kissed my hand and walked away like nothing had ever happened." she said, sobbing into them.

"Damn good thing we didn't know then!" Ron exclaimed.

"If we had, he wouldn't have lived long enough to tell us about that symbol," Harry added, with a little glance towards Draco, who wouldn't have a clue about that part, he hoped.

"Oh Hermione, I'm so sorry," said Draco, and he could not believe that he was actually feeling sorry, feeling pity for someone who had been hurt in that way. Remorse swept through him, because he knew he had treated some Slytherin girls that way himself. "Are you all right now? I mean, so much has happened since then. Haven't you been able to get past that, and put it behind you?"

"Draco, you never put something like that behind you," she said. "No girl ever wants a time like that, especially for her first time. You never forget that first time whether it's good or bad, and that's why it's so important to girls. And you feel so guilty, like it's at least partly your fault for putting yourself in that position in the first place. And then you feel guilty, and so sometimes Ron, even though I love you, I don't feel like I deserve you. I don't feel clean enough to give myself to you all the way, the way I know you want."

Breaking away from the three boys who mattered most in her life, Hermione fled up the stairs to her room, threw herself on her bed, and let out all her tears of regret.


	8. Book 1, Chapter 8, Graduation Trips

BOOK 1, CHAPTER 8: GRADUATION TRIPS

"Better go see her," Harry said, looking anxiously up the stairs.

"I'll go," Ron and Draco both chorused, jumping up.

"No," Harry said firmly. "Better be me. She'll be more comfortable with me." He got up and headed after her.

Ron and Draco both left the Heads common room and headed to their Houses. Harry went upstairs and knocked gently on Hermione's door. "Honey, it's me, Harry. Let me help," he said.

Reluctantly, she opened the door. "Oh Harry! I'm so ashamed. And I'm so conflicted. All of a sudden, I don't know what I want. I'm supposed to be in love with Ronald, and I do love him. But I love you too, and I know you're with Ginny and all, but I can't decide if I love Ron more than I love you, or love him in a different way." It all came out in one long breath. "And to top it all off, I'm beginning to be attracted to Draco Malfoy too, and I just realized tonight how much I hate Viktor Krum!"

"Well…that's quite a mouthful to be spitting out at one time," said Harry with a chuckle. "Let's see if I can help you sort some of it out." He took Hermione in his arms and held her. "Do you want to talk here, or go back down stairs? I sent the others away."

They decided to go back to the common room, and Hermione made them hot chocolate. They sat close together on the couch by the fire. "Let's cut the confusion. We can dispense with Krum right away. He molested you; you hate him; story over, right?"

"Um humm," she said, nodding agreement.

"Malfoy used to be a ruddy git. He used to abuse you worse than anyone," Harry continued. "So the question is whether or not you're ready to forgive him. Actually, the real question is whether or not he's really sincere about changing and moving on. If he is, he's an attractive guy. I can see why any girl would have those kinds of thoughts about Draco. But surely it's too soon for you to judge, and too dangerous to make another mistake, so that's got to go on hold no matter what. Agreed?"

"I see your point, Harry, but I'm not sure feelings are that easy to control," she said. "The problem is I don't know how I feel."

"Granted," he said, "but there's Ron to consider. Ginny and I thought you guys had that all sorted out, especially after he went to Australia with you, but it sounds like you are more conflicted than ever. Why?"

"A lot of it's physical, Harry." Hermione said. "Other than kissing me, he's rarely tried to touch me. I don't know if that's me, because I pull back after Krum, or him because I know he's about the most socially backward prat I've ever met. Or if I still have unresolved feeling for you, and he senses it."

"Well, there's a couple more things we need to review then," said Harry. "First off, I've always loved you like a sister, but any physical feelings I have towards you are also like a brother to a sister, and I'm not into incest! I'm with Ginny, and when she gets back, I'm going to ask her to marry me and spend the rest of my life with her. That should resolve any conflict you have in that area; if it disappoints you, I'm sorry."

"No, it's not a disappointment. I know. It's just something I have to get by, and I will if I can just sort out Ron," she said.

"Right. So you need to know how Ron works. In your heart, you already do know, but maybe you're having a hard time putting it into words," Harry said. "First off, he had a thing for you the first day we all met on the train. How do I know? Because he acted just like an 11-year-old boy in love, always trying to pretend he didn't like you at all, and didn't want anything to do with you until you made up that know-it-all troll story to save us from detention.

"But Ron has a basic problem that comes from how he grew up. He's the youngest boy in a really big family. You and I are only children, but I know how he feels because of the way the Dursleys treated me. In that situation, you are always second best, always getting the hand-me-downs if you get anything at all. I mean, look at that awful dress robe Mrs. Weasley sent him fourth year! His whole life has pretty much been like that, not getting what he really wanted.

"When you grow up like that, eventually you lose sight of the reason. You think it's because you're not good enough. When Ron helped me get the sword and we wanted to kill the locket, the horcrux used that against Ron to try to turn him to the dark side. It said things to him that were horrible, and even more so because it got them right out of his head, where he already believed them in his mind.

"Basically, Ron has no confidence," Harry continued. "Look what I had to do to turn him into a serviceable keeper. But once he gets confidence in something, there's no stopping him. Look at him now. He stops everything that comes his way, and he's offered a professional tryout, and he's not even out of school yet. So the problem you're having with Ronald is that you have to make the first move. That's what happened when you kissed him during the battle, but what you don't know is that he probably thinks you only did that because you were afraid one or both of you would die."

Harry smiled at her. "Girlfriend, it may run counter to the way you were raised, but I think if you want to find out how Ron really feels about you, and how you really feel about him, you are probably going to have to do more than kiss him again."

That conversation seemed to have the desired effect. The next weekend, Hermione invited Ron to take her to Hogsmeade. They had a wonderful day in the village, and she bought him a pair of orange and black-stripped boxer shorts to wear to his Cannons tryout. They had a delicious gourmet dinner with a couple bottles of muggle wine at an inn, then walked hand in hand back up to the castle. Twice on the way, Hermione giggled, and kissed him.

When they got back to the Heads common room, Hermione asked him to stay for a nightcap, and brought out the fire whiskey. Pretty soon, they were holding each other, and Hermione kissed him hard. With her tongue she touched his lips and asked to be admitted, and he opened his mouth to the kiss. Quickly, Hermione was lost in the sensation, and she decided that now was the time.

"Ronald, please carry me up to my room," she asked him, a twinkle in her eye.

"Uh, oh, sure," he said, and picking her up gently, carried her up stairs. She kicked open the door with her foot. "Put me down on the bed," she commanded. As he placed her on the silky down comforter, she had one more request. "Take my clothes off!" she said, trying for her sexiest smile. "And take yours off, too. I want to see you in your new boxers," she giggled.

Ron slowly undressed, turning away from her only at the last minute. He pulled on the orange and black shorts. "How's that?" he asked shyly.

"Close, but you still have work to do!" she said. Ron closed the distance to the bed, and slipped off Hermione's shoes. "Get up here!" she said, and when he closed his mouth over hers again, she wriggled against him and moaned with pleasure. He moved his mouth to her neck and found the sensitive places that he knew pleased her, and she seized his hands. Bringing them to her chest, she showed him that she wanted him to work the buttons. "When I told you to undress me, I meant it," she said sternly. "You are so beautiful," he said. "You are so blind," she laughed. "I'm just skinny Hermione with too much chin, stringy brown hair, and mud for eyes."

"Hermione, I'm the one with no confidence, not you," he said. "I'm the one that thinks I'm not good enough for you. Believe me, Hermione, I love you. I have loved you for a very long time, and my greatest fear is that I'm not good enough for you. If you don't believe me, let's find the Mirror of Erised and let me show you my greatest desire. It will be you, and only you."

"Been talking to Harry, haven't you," Hermione laughed.

"Maybe. Could have used it a lot sooner, though!" he replied, and he took her mouth again. Now both of them were lost in the sensations, no question, no doubts. His hand found her breasts through the lacy material. "It's a front clasp," she whispered, and he quickly freed them. With his fingers, he traced circles around the nipples and areolae, and Hermione gasped with pleasure. She lowered her own head, and took one of Ron's nipples into her mouth, sucking gently, and was rewarded with his own moan.

"Good thing I used contraceptive charms," Hermione said with a laugh. "Let's go slow, Ron. I love you. I want us to make a good memory."

He slid his hand down the smooth silky skin of her stomach, and felt the muscles underneath clench in anticipation. He tipped a finger into her navel, then moved down to the knckers and over the top to her crotch. She parted her legs for him. Through the fabric, he felt the wetness, and he took a long time stroking her legs.

Ron reached the top of her red bikinis, and she lifted her butt so he could work them over her hips and down her legs. She kicked them off. Then she rolled on top of him, and began working her way down his body. "My turn," she said, as she reached the orange and black boxers and pulled them off him. The scent of her skin was intoxicating to Ron, as he pulled her back up to him and found her mouth again. Then they were joined, and as the pleasure built, Hermione was finally able to understand the differences between rape, sex, and making love.

When they were spent, for the longest time, they lay joined together. "Wow, I guess that was worth the wait," Ron said with a huge smile, as he let himself gently down onto her, then rolled slightly to the side to ease the weight.

"I think you just got me past one of my bigger hang-ups," Hermione said. "Thank you Ronald. That was…well…well, it was just magnificent. I'll never forget it, and now I think I can store the other one away with Riddle, horcruxes, big snakes, and all the other bad memories."

"I love you Hermione," Ron said with all his heart, and looking into his eyes, Hermione knew it was the truth. But she said nothing.

The following week, Ron got an owl from the Chudley Cannons asking him to come try out over Christmas break. "Seems they've had a major injury, and may need a backup sooner than they expected," said the redhead at breakfast that morning.

"Ron, if you're not going to be at the Burrow, I want to do something else for the Holidays," Hermione said. "Harry, since Ginny is staying in America, do you want to come to my muggle house for Christmas? Ron, you might be able to come Christmas Eve or Christmas Day or for the New Year, and I'll invite scads of our other friends"

"Hey, that sounds like a plan," said Harry. "Do you think your mum will mind too much, Ron?"

"Yeah, she will. But she'll get over it, because for some strange reason, she loves us all," Ron said with a big grin.

"So it's settled!" Said Hermione. "Luna, Neville, surely you'll both come. And Harry, make sure as many of the Quidditch team as possible can come. Oh…" and she jumped up and ran over to the Slytherin table and started whispering in Malfoy's ear. He suddenly got the brightest look on his face, and nodded agreement. "Good for her," exclaimed Ron. "Knows he doesn't have any place of his own to go with his Mum and Dad in Azkaban. That's why I love love love that witch!"

Probably the most surprised person in the world about the ultimate location of Granger House was Draco Malfoy. It turned out to be located less than five miles from Malfoy Manor in Wiltshire. "For a long time, Harry, Ron and I thought we might hide out here during the war, but it was way too close to you for comfort," she told him after he pulled his jaw back up off the floor. "I sent my parents to Australia so Riddle couldn't use them to get to me or Harry at the beginning of the war," she added, "and they've decided to stay there. They're both dentists, you know," she said showing him her straight teeth and glowing smile. It also was quite a bit closer to the Burrow than London, which meant that holiday visits would be easy, and Luna's house was also nearby. "Centrally located, and pretty darn convenient. Who knew?" they all agreed.

"I sent Ginny a muggle letter, so she knows where we are. She can send letters, or she can send owls to the Weasleys and they can owl them on to us," Hermione told Harry after they had arrived.

"Quite a place you have here," Harry said, looking around the brick manor house. "Well, it's hardly as grand as Malfoy Manor," Hermione noted to Draco, who had traveled with them, "but they were doctors after all, and they made a good living. They've left more than enough with me to see to my comfort, and, oh, if you don't mind Harry, I've borrowed something of yours for the holidays. Kreacher, Winky, would you both show yourselves please?" And with loud cracks, both house elves appeared.

"Ahh, Master Harry! Mistress Hermione said you would be staying here and might need Kreacher's help."

"And Winky owes Mistress Hermione so much, she is glad to be of service," said the other house elf, nervously fingering her table napkin toga.

"Glad to have you with us again, my friends," Harry said, and the elves looked at one another uncomfortably as he patted both of them on the back.

Soon, the other guests started arriving in two and threes. In all, eight girls and seven boys had accepted Hermione's invitation to hang out, break rules, learn muggle customs, and generally celebrate their first Christmas without war hanging over their heads. The house actually had five bedrooms and three bathrooms, so it was not difficult to divide everyone up into quarters. Downstairs, there was a kitchen, dining room, large living room, a library, and an even larger gathering room that had several comfy chairs and two sofas. Hermione conjured around 20 huge big cushions that could be moved around anywhere on the floor. The carpet was thick and plush, the room was warm yellow and rose, and so it became the social center of the house.

Hermione taught them all how to use television and the muggle stereo. "Everyone just feel free to do what you want, no rules here," she said. "Dinner will be at six, but I'm sure Kreacher or Winky will get you whatever you want, whenever you want it. I know everybody is probably tired tonight, so turn in when you want. I thought tomorrow night, maybe we could go to the local club. It's a decent dance scene, and some of the local kids are fun. The next day is Christmas Eve, so we'll go get a tree and decorate, or you can go shopping if you want. Then Christmas Day we can lie around and get fat and open presents, and on Boxing Day we can go hit the clubs again. But no rules…you don't have to follow a schedule if you'd rather do something else."

Dinner was excellent. They sat around and talked into the night, listening to music, even a little dancing when the spirit moved them. Everyone turned in before midnight, got up late the next day, and lazed around recovering from school and travel. They had dinner, and then the girls went up to get ready for a night out. When they came back down, the wolf whistles started, and the laughing and easy smiles of friends who were comfortable with one another.

At the club, Harry in particular was able to enjoy the freedom of one who is firmly attached, but alone. He danced with everyone, displaying unexpected grace from a guy who had always been a little smaller, looked a little nerdy, and had been picked on by bullies. But he was also an athlete, one of the best in Hogwarts history, and he had the grace of a dueler, honed in constant DA practices.

The other noteworthy dancer was Draco Malfoy, although he preferred the faster music, and the freedom of improvised dancing. He and Hermione made a particularly entertaining couple on the dance floor, and she also displayed unexpected rhythmic grace.

"Ron hates to dance, unfortunately," Hermione whispered in Draco's ear when he led her to the floor for a slow one. Holding her tight in his arms, Draco couldn't help knowing that he wanted her, that he was jealous of Ron. "Look, I know you two have been together a long time," Draco started. "Oh, not so long, really," she said. "OK. Well just know this. I wouldn't want to mess anything up for you, but we've grown a lot closer these past few months, and I do care about you," he said. "That's so sweet," Hermione said, and she laid her head on his shoulder.

The week passed quickly. They all went out and found the perfect tree. They floated it home, and everyone conjured up their favorite ornaments, and magic stars that winked off and on. Hermione proved her skill when she produced two dozen glowing fairies that flew in and out among the branches. The others produced holly bows and mistletoe and evergreen wreaths throughout the house. Everyone went shopping, and soon the area under the tree was filled with brightly wrapped packages of every shape and size. Right after dinner, there was knock at the door, and Hermione opened it to find all the Weasleys, including Ron, standing on her porch.

"Oh wonderful, so glad you're all here," and she swept Ron up into her arms and kissed him hard. "Looks like Santa had no trouble finding this place," said Molly Weasley, and Arthur came in behind her, dragging another sack full of presents. There were some introductions to be made, some explanations, some accommodation as Arthur Weasley had to accept the presence of Draco Malfoy, and the general merriment resumed. "Sweetheart, I need to talk to you alone," Ron whispered to Hermione.

They slipped away out into the garden behind the house. The snow was gently falling, so Ron wrapped her up in his traveling cloak. "Hermione, I'm not going back to Hogwarts," he said, and he quickly put a finger across her lips before she could utter the expected outburst. "I've made the Cannons, and not just as the backup. I've put their regular guy on the bench already, and they've given me a lot of Galleons to sign a contract. In fact, I'll be leaving tomorrow night to rejoin the team."

"Well, I guess that means I need an orange and black sweater for Christmas," Hermione sighed. "And I guess I'll start work an a 'We'll just keep our fingers crossed banner' for the first game. Do they know the words to 'Weasley is our King' in Chudley yet?" she smiled, and then she reached up and gave him a big hug.

"Congratulations, Ronald. You told me recently what you would see in the Mirror of Erised, but it wasn't true you know. I know you love me, but I know this is what you want right now. I'm willing to wait, and I'll be there supporting you when I can."

"I love you, Hermione Granger, more than anyone, more than anything," and he kissed her and led her back inside.

Needless to say, Ron's news brought another round of joy and celebration to Granger House. Everyone partied late into the night, and Malfoy played it cool, staying away from Hermione the entire evening. When the Weasleys returned home, Ron stayed over. He and Hermione commandeered the master bedroom, which had sort of become the love nest for those in need of privacy. They didn't notice the look that passed over Malfoy's face when they snuck up to bed, holding hands and giggling.

The next day, they opened presents. Hermione found the orange and black Chudley sweater under the tree. Luna gave her the curved claw from a Wrinkle Toe Snaggler that could be used in charms. Harry gave her a book on muggle physics, because he knew she planned to take an advanced muggle degree after Hogwarts. Her big surprise came from Malfoy, however. It was a beautiful golden charm bracelet, with eight golden charms representing the years he had known her. She found the charms interesting and unique, including the one of a hand striking a face and another of a ferret. But the last brought a tear to her eye as she saw the word "Friends".

After a few more nights of dancing and talking into the wee hours, they all stayed up New Year's Eve to welcome in Baby 1999. "And next year will be really spectacular," Luna reminded them. "It's the next Millennium, and Daddy says the world is really going to change next year at midnight." Everyone kissed one another, and Draco asked Hermione to go for a walk with him.

Out in the snow, they walked in silence for a long time. Then Draco stopped and turned to her. "You know I love you, don't you?" he asked. "I have for a long time. In fact, I think I probably was in love with you all the time I was taunting and abusing you, and I was just doing it to cover up because I knew you would never want me."

She took her time answering, and chose her words carefully. "I guess I've known for a little while," she started. "And it's put me in an awkward position, because I'm supposed to be with Ron, and we're lovers now. But I'll be truthful…I don't know if I love Ron the way he loves me. He has given me his whole heart. I haven't given mine entirely to him. You see, I loved both Harry and Ron for such a long time, and until recently, I wasn't sure which one of them I wanted, let alone the other boys that have come along to mix up all my emotions.

"Because, Draco, I do feel something for you," she continued, and now she truly had a look of fear and confusion in her dark eyes. "I enjoy your company. I find you fascinating. Truth be told, I have more fun with you than with Ronald. But, and it's a big one, I can't put all our past behind us so quickly as you apparently can. I'm not sure I trust you as much as I would need to in order to be with you. Do you understand? I'm afraid you might be like Krum again."

"Sure, and it's exactly what I would expect from someone as brilliant as you are," he said. "It's one of the reasons I love you, and why I think I will always love you. You are just about the only person in the world who is smart enough to put me in my place, and compete with me on that level and win. I don't expect you to love me back. Maybe you never will, but it will never change the way I feel about you. Maybe we will never be in love, because that's different from one person loving the other person, but just know that I will never intentionally hurt you, and I want to be there for you like Potter and Weasley have always been there for you."

"You cold? You want to start back?" he asked her. "Yes," she said, "but first…" and she reached up, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him. And it was soft and sweet and warm and welcoming.

The next month flew by at school in a blur of classes, reports, tests, and thesis defenses. Draco and Hermione frequently dated, going into Hogsmeade, sometimes apparating to a nice restaurant for a private dinner, or to a club for drinks and dancing. About once a month, Ron got a couple days off and came to visit Hermione at Hogwarts, and Harry just shook his head and wondered what she thought she was doing when they would go up to her room for the night.

"Just learning more about how to break all the rules," she told him late one night, when she came back a little tipsy from being out drinking and dancing with Draco.

Early in the spring, an owl came from the Weasleys telling Harry that Ginny had won the second challenge, and was now in the lead at the Tri Wizard Tournament. Also, another owl arrived from Ron inviting them to see the Cannons match against Puddlemere, where Oliver Wood was now a starter. There were eight tickets, so Harry and Hermione invited the six remaining Prefects to accompany them. They walked outside the castle grounds, then apparated to the match, and all of them had a great time teaching the Chudley fans how to sing "Weasley is Our King". Ron had a great match, which was a good thing because it lasted seven hours. Keeping their fingers crossed and hoping for the best, the Cannons fans were finally rewarded with a rare win.

After the match, they all spent some time with Ron and some of his friends from the team, and then all the Hogwarts students headed back to the school except for Hermione. She decided to stay overnight with Ron. As the students left the club where they were celebrating the win, Draco cast a dark glance her way, but no one seemed to notice, especially Ron and Hermione.

Back at school, the next couple of months were spent concentrating on preparation for their N.E.W.T.s and planning what would come next. Harry had applied for Aurors training, and had been conditionally accepted, contingent on success in testing.

Hermione had decided on a different road. Many wizards and witches chose to attend a muggle college for a year or two after graduating from Hogwarts to prepare for certain careers, or to further their understanding of the natural world. Hermione had always had an interest in Arithmancy and the physical basics of magic. For that reason, she decided she wanted to take an advanced degree in muggle physics.

Gaining admission to a prestigious muggle university was not as hard as it might seem for a Hogwarts student. Over the years, the school had developed a method for getting the necessary transcripts and recommendations from other English boarding schools, and it was not unusual for a wizard or witch to be accepted almost anywhere in the world.

The shocking part of Hermione's plan was the place she chose to go. Harry could hardly believe it when she told him she was applying to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, better known as M.I.T., located in the city of Cambridge in the United States. "What? Are you and Ginny planning on waving at one another as your airplanes pass in the night?" he asked her with a shocked expression on his face. "And what does Ron think about this plan?" he added.

"Considering the amount of time I get to spend with Ronald, I can't say I'm too concerned about what he thinks," she said, pouting. "Look, as long as his Quidditch career is going so well, we're not going to get beyond where we are, and that means seeing each other once in awhile when it's convenient to his training or match schedule. So next year, if he wants to shag me, he can bloody well hop on an airplane!

"I have always wanted to study the possibility of integrating certain physical and magical principles, and this is my chance," she added brightly. "As for Ginny, she'll be back before I go. In fact, isn't her last Tri Wizard test this coming weekend? And then she comes back here for graduation, I believe."

"Right," Harry replied. "And guess what she's going to do! She's trying out for the Harpies!" The Holyhead Harpies were the only all-female Quidditch team in the world, and it was well known throughout the magical world that Ginny Weasley was already one of the best chasers to ever play the game at any level.

"Guess the wedding will be postponed, then," Hermione said with a chuckle. "I haven't even asked her yet," said Harry. "Boys!" Hermione exclaimed. "You'll get around to it in your own good time, I guess. But let me give you a little hint. Don't be like Ronald, and assume, or you just might wait too long."

"Oh, I think I'm going to wait around for you so we can have a double wedding," he joked.

A week or so later, Hermione had occasion to ask Draco Malfoy about his post-graduate plans. "You won't believe me," he said. "Well, everything considered, probably not," she chided, "but tell me anyway."

"I have put in an application to an American university, supposedly the finest school on the east coast of the USA. It's called Harvard, and it's in Boston. They tell me I'm a shoe-in for their International Studies program," Draco said with a mischievous grin.

"Did you say Boston!" exclaimed Hermione as her hand flew up to her face.

"Yes, Boston. It's in Massachusetts," he replied.

"Yeah. I know. Did you know I'm going to MIT?" she asked suspiciously.

"No way!"

"Way."

"Well, isn't that a horse of a different color," Malfoy said. There was long silence between them, and they both appeared to be considering their options. It was as though a curtain was lifting. "Truly, I didn't know," he finally said. "If it bothers you, I could change my plans. There are other schools…"

"No," she said. "To be honest, I think I would like to get to know you better. I've always thought of you as arrogant, selfish, cold and evil until this year. But I've seen the other side, and I like it a lot. I think we've become very good friends, and I remember what you said at Christmas. And I think since then, I've decided that maybe I trust you a little more than I thought.

"Listen. If you do get into Harvard, let's talk about getting a place in Boston and sharing expenses. I know that's a big step to some people, but this is just a platonic relationship, right? We both might be able to afford doing it on our own, but it seems to me if there's an opportunity to share, we should think about. That is, if you think a Malfoy pureblood could possibly live with a mudblood like me," she added with a grin.

In late May, Ginny finished last in the final Tri Wizard test, and second overall in the tournament. A week later, she returned to Hogwarts for the graduation ceremonies. Warmly greeted by all her friends, she was quickly wrapped up in Harry Potter's loving embrace. The whole crowd gathered together in the Heads common room for a welcome home party. Since she and Harry had corresponded regularly the whole year, she knew Draco Malfoy would be part of the festivities, and she was surprised at how easily she could accept him in the easy company of everyone else.

"Ginny," Hermione whispered to her good friend, "I can use your help and advice. I'm going to MIT. You've been around Boston all year. Tell me all about it. Oh, and I should tell you…I think Malfoy and I are going to share living quarters because it looks like he will be at Harvard."

"Oh." Long pause. "And my brother thinks what about that?" Ginny asked.

"Well, to be honest, Ronald has not been around all that much. I still like him, and we're together when we can be, but I can see that I'm second to his career right now, and that's probably the way it should be. So I'm taking advantage of the fact we can't spend our lives together right now to do advanced school work, see some of America, explore other friendships, and break a few more rules," Hermione said with a giggle.

Malfoy walked up to the girls. "So, what's going on here?" he asked with a smile. "Hermione was just telling me you two are going to be housemates," Ginny said with a smirk. "Oh really?" said Draco. "News to me. Were you planning to tell me that we had made a final decision on that idea?" he said with a laugh. "Good news, though. I did in fact get my acceptance letter from Harvard, so if you're up for the adventure, then so am I."

"It's a deal!" said Hermione with a wink. "Let's live a little."

"I see Hermione Granger is still among the missing," Malfoy said with a smirk.

Knowing they had no where else to go, Harry made sure that the future roommates were invited to spend the summer with Ginny and him at Grimmauld Place.

The next day, one of the most notable classes in the history of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was graduated. Since Hogwarts classes are denoted by the year in which most of the students entered the school, this class was known as the Class of 1992 although Harry, Hermione and Draco, along with most of their friends, had actually entered school in 1991. Hermione and Draco were the valedictorians, and gave outstanding addresses, noted particularly for their brevity. Ginny was named the outstanding athlete, and noted in her acceptance speech that if her brother had remained to finish school, he would probably have beat her.

Proudly, the Gryffindors accepted yet another House Cup, won for them by their many outstanding residents. As history would bear out, it would be the last for the red and gold for several years.

Then Headmistress McGonagall stepped forward with Kingsley Shacklebolt at her side to present a very special award. Calling Harry Potter to the front, the Minister of Magic was proud to present him with the Order of Merlin, Fifth Degree…the youngest wizard ever inducted into the Order at any level.

With the ceremonies completed, the students all formed up in their groups and marched down to the railway station. The always-reliable red train stood at the ready, and another dangerous journey, the living of life in the outside world, began.


	9. Book 1, Chapter 9, Flight Of Fancy

BOOK 1, CHAPTER 9: FLIGHT OF FANCY

"Harry! Harry! You won't believe it! You absolutely will not believe it," cried Ginny Weasley as she danced into the living room at Grimmauld Place. "They want me! They want me bad! Harry, we can be set for life if I do this! The Harpies have offered me an unbelievable contract. The Cannons are paying Ron peanuts by comparison. Look at this offer sheet. One million Galleons to sign, and one million more per year guaranteed for five years even if I get hurt or killed."

"Wow, Gin…I am so proud of you!" exclaimed Harry, gathering her up his arms, and dancing with her around the room. The once dingy and old Black Mansion had been completely refurbished during the school year, and was now wonderfully bright, modern, and very comfortable for the four new graduates from Hogwarts.

"Girlfriend, that is tremendous news!" shouted Hermione from the doorway, where she and Draco Malfoy were now standing, having both come running from the kitchen to see what all the fuss was about.

"Looks like I'll have to introduce you to the Malfoy family Goblin at Gringotts," said Malfoy with a smirk. "And I do believe I'm starting to regret all those Weaselette and blood traitor remarks," he added somewhat sheepishly.

"You never stood a chance anyway, Blondie," Ginny said. "I prefer mine slight, dark-haired and green-eyed," she added, planting another big kiss on Harry. "Seriously, Harry, I owe you and Hermione so much for all those hours playing Quidditch in the field by the Burrow. You know, Fred, George and Ron would never let me play with them until you guys came into our lives. And darling Harry…you're the one who gave me the chance with the house team, and I love you so much for it. I have wanted this SO BAD ever since I was old enough to fly!"

"Kreacher," Harry called out, and there was an immediate pop as the house elf materialized. "Miss Ginny has some wonderful news, old friend. A banquet is in order, please."

"Master has only to ask, Kreacher lives to serve Master Harry and his friends," croaked the wizened old elf.

"When do you report," asked the always-practical Hermione. "Next Saturday, the 14th of August", Ginny said excitedly.

"Great," said Harry. "So tonight we celebrate your contract, and tomorrow, we celebrate your birthday. Looks like we couldn't plan a better week if we tried."

"And by the way, sweetheart, money is not an issue anyway. I don't know if you are aware of the Potter fortune or not, but even before I inherited the Black fortune to go with it, I could give Blondie a run for his money! Actually, your brother Bill is managing that for us now."

"And please don't forget, Ginevra, you currently owe Blondie and me a lot of information about the Boston area. We leave in three weeks, and we still haven't found a place to live," Hermione added.

"And the next one of you who calls me Blondie is going to get herself cursed so far into the next Millennium you'll never find your way back," said Malfoy with a malicious sounding laugh.

Kreacher produced another wonderful 7-course meal, which they took in the kitchen because they all loved watching the old elf cook. Each course was accompanied by a suitable wine, some muggle and some wizard vintages.

After coffee, they all zipped off to their favorite club. Harry loved dancing with Ginny, as both were excellent dancers. Draco was also an excellent dancer; Hermione not so skilled, but she loved the exercise and the freedom of movement. Many of the boys in the club obviously thought the brunette was the prettiest girl in the house, so she hardly ever wanted for a partner. Draco liked to work the room himself, but he always kept a wary eye on Hermione, cutting in if he thought someone was trying to hit on her.

Unfortunately, that was how the trouble started. A particularly large footballer had taken a rather obvious interest in Hermione, and in the martini bar as well. Being a bit intoxicated after a half-dozen Bombay Blues, he attempted to put both hands down the back of her jeans, and slobbered all over her face when she refused to open her mouth for a kiss. When Draco attempted to cut in, the pug took a roundhouse swing that Malfoy dodged, but which unfortunately clipped Hermione lightly as he followed through. Big mistake. In an instant, Malfoy's wand was out, and the clumsy oaf was flying backwards across the room.

This attracted the attention of the bouncer crew, and several more large people descended on the four friends. But Harry looked up in shock as they arrived. "Big D," he shouted, and sure enough, the lead bouncer turned out to be none other than his cousin, Dudley Dursley. "Oh…Harry…didn't expect to find you and your, uh, well, you know, magic friends, in here," Dudley said slowly.

"Well, I think it's brilliant!" Harry said. "Looks like you've arrived right on time, because I think we need the cavalry tonight." Dudley quickly escorted them outside. "This is my girlfriend, Ginny. You met her last summer, when I came to tell your folks goodbye. And this is Hermione Granger, the smartest witch of this generation." Hermione blushed deep red. "And Mr. Magic here is Draco Malfoy, who would do well to learn to hold his temper in the muggle world before he gets us all in really big trouble. Malfoy, this is my muggle cousin Dudley." Malfoy bowed. "Sir, we are in your debt."

"You working here all the time, Dud?" Harry asked.

"For now, I guess," said the large lad. "Never was much one for school, you know. Boxing was more my style. Tough getting the fights, though."

"Well, keep at it," said Harry. "Believe or not, we were in there tonight celebrating because Ginny just signed a very big professional contract to play on a team in the wizard world's favorite sport. It wouldn't mean anything to you if I described it, but she's just become a very rich spoiled brat," he concluded with a big grin, drawing her in for a kiss. "Hey, cuz, did your mum and dad give you that address I left for you last year? I thought you might write."

"Naw. You know Daddy. He wouldn't want me to have anything to do with you, and my mum doesn't do anything against him," Dudley said.

"OK, look," said Harry, drawing a parchment from his pocket, and tapping it with his wand, "this is my muggle address. You can't actually go there because you won't be able to see the house, but anything you mail to me will reach me. You send me a letter, give me your address or phone number, and we'll touch bases. Maybe have a lunch or share a couple pints. You know, you haven't turned out to be such a bad sort, Big D,"

"Thanks, Harry. I do still owe you. Better get back to work now, though," Dudley said.

"Hey, see you!" Harry called at Dudley's back. "And have you three had enough excitement for one night yet," he asked the others with a big grin. "Oh, I think maybe that's enough for tonight," Hermione said, rubbing a little red mark on her cheek. Linking arms, the four friends headed home.

"Happy Birthday, Ginny," said Hermione Granger the next morning as Ginny came down to the kitchen. "You and Harry have big plans?"

"I don't really know what he's got in mind, but I know what I want for my present tonight," Ginny said with a wicked smile on her face and gleam in her eye.

"I know what you mean," said Hermione. "Ron's coming in for the day, and I can hardly wait. He better be planning on spending the night, because I'm starting to get in a bad way, if you know what I mean," she said with a wink, and she and Ginny started forking up eggs, sausage and toast.

"So tell me about Cambridge," Hermione said to her best girlfriend. "Did you get there when you living at Salem School?"

"Oh lots of times," crooned Ginny Weasley. "That's where all the kids go when they get time off. It's a little far from Salem, not close like Hogsmeade. But all the colleges are near there, and if you can fake up a good enough I.D., you can have a really good time in the local bars and clubs."

"Well, that's certainly nice to know, but you didn't happen to notice any candidates for living quarters, did you?" said the always-practical witch. "Draco, can you join us for a few minutes," she called out to her future roommate. "Ginny is going to give us some advice about Cambridge."

Malfoy entered the room. "Just don't put us in the slums," he said. "Neither of us is used to living that way, and we, or at least I, can afford better."

"No, we don't want the low income housing, but on the other hand, Draco, you really need to live among the students. I grew up with muggles. You still know very little about how they live in the real world, a year of muggle studies notwithstanding," Hermione said. "We don't need to live anywhere where we get constant repeats of last night's adventure."

"Well, here's what I would do if it was me," Ginny said. "As I remember, the main bus line runs along Massachusetts Avenue directly between MIT and Harvard. There is a main bus terminal at each end, and a main subway terminal at what they call Mbta-Central Square. That's where we always got off, because all the campus nightlife is in both directions from there. The Charles River is southwest of there, and the neighborhoods between Massachusetts and the Charles are full of various levels of rentals, everything from really cheap student dumps to luxury high-rise buildings. The closer you get to the river, the more expensive it gets, I think I was told."

"All right," Hermione said to Draco, "I've pulled up some maps and some phone numbers off the Internet for you. Now, since you're concerned and have the money, I'll let you find the place. Just remember…two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a study room if possible. Those are mandatory conditions, and if you can't meet them, we aren't going to be sharing."

"Got it," he said.

"Got what?" said Harry, entering the kitchen.

"Oh, Draco and I have just been pumping Ginny for information on where we should live in Cambridge," Hermione said. "Harry, do you know when Ron is getting in?"

"Should be any minute, I expect," said Harry, and just then the front door burst open, and the long muscular redhead charged down the hall to the kitchen, sweeping Hermione up in a huge bear hug and planting a big wet kiss full on her lips. Malfoy turned away, and Ginny looked at Harry, opened her mouth, stuck in a finger, and started making retching noises.

Ron broke off the kiss. "Happy Birthday, Sis," he said with a big grin. "And congratulations on the contract. It's news all over England. Guess I'll have to find us a family manager or something like that."

"Malfoy's already working on that for us," Ginny said. "He's got family people at Gringotts that are willing to look after us too. And Bill is managing Harry's affairs. Maybe you need to ask Bill to look after you as well."

"Great Merlin, you don't know how I've missed you!" Ron said, turning back to Hermione. "Me too," she said, planting another big kiss on him. "I know you've got a killer schedule, but I sure wish you could get here more than once a month. I just don't know what I'm going to do next year; we probably won't be able to see each other for nine months or more."

"It's going to be a major pain, alright," said Ron. "But I think I might be able to get over to see you when the league takes the winter break, maybe a week or two at least. Better than nothing, I suppose. And I'm sure in the meantime, Malfoy will look after you and keep all my rivals away," he said with a meaningful look in the direction of the blond young man.

"So, Ginny, look what I brought you," said Ron, handing her a big long package.

"Is it!" she screamed. "Yes little sis. It's the Pro Style, just out. There's only once catch. I've jinxed it so you're not allowed to use it when the Harpies play the Cannons!" he said with a laugh. "But you ought to be able to beat any other seeker to the snitch when you witches play anyone else. I figure that will help us out in the tables." Ginny threw her arms around her brother and hugged him tightly.

"Guess I've got something for you too," said Hermione, handing Ginny a beautifully wrapped package. "Oh, my…you shouldn't have," said the redheaded girl, tearing off the wrappings. Inside the box was beautiful, sparkling blue dance top, almost a perfect match for her eyes. "Oh, it's beautiful! I'll wear it tonight!" Ginny exclaimed, holding it up to herself and spinning around in the kitchen.

"And, here's something no seeker can be without," said Draco Malfoy, handing her a smaller package wrapped in golden paper. Unwrapping it, Ginny found a pair of the latest seeker gloves, complete with rubber friction material on the palms and fingers. "Oh thank you, Draco," she said, giving him a peck on the cheek. "You know what, you really are a very nice guy when you try."

"Just put the past down to nurture, not nature," he said with a smile.

"Uh, I might have a little something for you too," said Harry, putting his hand into his pocket, pulling out a little black box, and dropping to his knee. "Ginny, I know neither of us are ready quite yet to settle down, but I don't want to put this part off any longer. I love you, and I want to make an unbreakable promise and commitment to you right now, on your birthday, August 11, 1999. Ginny Weasley, will you marry me, my greatest and only love?" And he opened the box to show her a large sparkling stone set in a beautiful gold band, guarded by a gold stone on one side and a ruby on the other.

Tears were streaming down her face. "Oh Harry! That was so beautiful. That ring is so lovely. Of course I'll marry you some day, and of course, I'll wear your ring until then," Ginny said, taking his hands and drawing him to his feet. He slipped the ring on her finger, and drew her face to his in a sweet warm kiss, as their friends clapped their hands in celebration.

"But just so you know," she said, breaking the kiss. "This is not the only present I expect from you today, Harry Potter," she said with a seductive wink.

The next morning, Ginny awoke with her head cradled in the crook of Harry's arm, and debated whether or not to roll over on top of him. She loved the feel of him inside her, that intimate connection that made the two of them one ecstatic being. She slid her right leg over him, and discovered it wasn't going to take any effort on her part. "Good morning, beautiful," she said, and she lowered herself the rest of the way, completing the connection and feeling him fill her up. "That was a wonderful present you gave me last night, and I thought I might return the favor this morning, if you don't mind!"

She bent over him so that their upper bodies came in total contact, and she could kiss him. He took advantage to pull out a little, then thrust back in, and as his thighs came off the bed, she tucked her feet under them. With their mouths open in the kiss, they were now in greatest possible physical contact between a man and a woman.

From the next room, there came a cry of delight as Ron Weasley brought Hermione Granger to release. And down the hall, a blond young man found his own pleasures with a very pretty blond girl he had picked up at the club that night, while they were out celebrating Ginny's birthday and engagement. Somehow, sex with a muggle girl was not quite as satisfying as with a witch, but he could wait no longer.

All too soon, Ron had to return to Chudley, and Ginny reported to training camp on Saturday. The following week, Malfoy reported that he had booked them an apartment in Cambridge for the school year, and paid the entire rent in advance. He had also booked their flight to Boston, and arranged to have all the muggles services turned on before they arrived. "It's nothing but a bother to have to put up with electricity and telephone stuff," he complained. "It's no wonder the muggles are always unhappy and stressed out," he added. "With all this stuff they have to do for themselves without the help of magic, they never have time for the really important things in life."

The next few days were a flurry of packing and making additional arrangements. The day before they were to leave, Hermione drew Harry aside. "Are you going to be all right?" she asked, with a look of concern. "You're getting the worst of the deal, in my opinion. We've all be together and so close for eight years. Now you're going to be the one who is alone."

"Well, no more alone than Ginny and Ron," Harry replied. "But it would be too depressing to stay here by myself, that's for sure. I sent an owl to Molly Weasley last week, and she and Arthur have invited me to move into the Burrow while I'm in Auror training. I'll just floo into work with Arthur each day. Kreacher will keep Grimmauld Place spotless in case we need to use it, and I'm sure Ron and Ginny will get home.

"But Hermione," he said, getting very serious for a minute, "I am going to miss you. I hope you know that of all the people who have helped me and stuck with me over the years, I've counted on you the most. I don't know if it's possible for people to be better friends than we've been, and I love you for it most of all."

"Oh Harry," Hermione said, "If I loved you any more than I do, Ginny would hex me into the next century. You've been so brave and such a strong leader. There are still big things in your future…I just hope they will be nice things instead of such frightening things. But if you ever need me, I'm a muggle phone call away."

"Just take care of yourself, Hermione," Harry added. "You didn't ask for it, but you're going to be the one who actually keeps track of Malfoy for me now. I know he can still be a pill and a pain, but don't let him get to you. He's made a lot of progress over the past year. Watch yourself around him, but I'm sure you can keep him focused in the right direction."

"Not to worry," she said. "Believe it or not, I actually enjoy being around him now. He's very smart, you know, and I probably enjoy swapping ideas with him more than just about anyone I've ever met. He's certainly not as physical as Ronald, but he's very attractive in a curious sort of way. But I think he's safe because I don't think he's capable of ever making a commitment in his life."

"Well, that's the other thing of course," Harry said. "Do you still consider yourself Ron's girlfriend, or what?"

"Yes," she said, with a frown. "But I want to make it clear that Ronald doesn't own me; not the way Ginny lets you own her. You know how so much of my life has been about order and following rules. But I've been trying to change that, trying to experiment. I don't think I can make the kind of commitment to Ronald that you and Ginny have made to one another until I've tried out some other things. Some of those things may be other relationships, because I think the only way I can know for sure if I want to spend my life with Ron is by experiencing some alternatives."

"Just don't hurt him if you can help it," Harry said. "I know you well enough to know there's a lot of truth in what you just said. I think what you are doing this year will be the opportunity you need to make sure your relationship is the real thing. In a lot of ways, it will be like the months that Ron went away from us before he decided for sure that was where he really wanted to be. But if you try something out you know he wouldn't like, please just take precautions so he won't find out. You know as will as I do that his confidence is easily shaken, and he often misunderstands some of the things going on around him."

"I love you Harry," Hermione said, throwing her arms around him. "You're my best friend ever!"

"I love you too," he replied, holding her tightly as she put her head on his shoulder, and he felt wet tears run down her cheek.

The following day, Harry drove Hermione and Draco to Heathrow, and they took British Air to Boston. Knowing Malfoy had never been in a muggle airplane before, Hermione had let him pay for first class in hopes he would be less stressed by the extra space up front. Still, as the big silver bird roared down the runway, she could see he was practically terrified.

"It's just like flying on a broom, only you're inside and can't fall off," she laughed. "Easy for you to say," he said through clenched teeth. "The way I hear it, you've flown on hippogriffs, dragons and thestrals. This can't be anything compared to that."

"Yeah, being inside a tin can over which I absolutely no control is very relaxing by comparison," she said with a laugh.

"Your courage is the thing I admire most about you, Hermione," Draco said. "You know, you've never really filled me in on all the things you did the year you were away from school. There I was, cowering in the Room of Requirement or hiding out at home, practically under house arrest, and you guys were having a real adventure. I would never have been brave enough. I'd have been terrified the whole time."

"What? You think we weren't scared?" she said, looking at him incredulously. "Draco, I didn't spend just one year in fear of my life. I was terrified for four full years, ever since we knew that Riddle was trying for power again. You do understand that muggle-borns like me would have been the first to be killed if he had succeeded."

Over the next seven hours, Hermione gave Draco a pretty thorough recap. "Do you know what a horcrux is?" she began. After explaining the basic idea that a dark wizard could split his soul through murdering someone, and store part of it in an object as a sort of protection against death, she went on to tell him how Dumbledore had worked out that there were seven of them, and sent them on a mission to destroy them all.

"Do you remember when we found you and your creepy friends in the Room of Requirement, and Crabbe started that fire that killed him?" she said. "Well, that tiara we took out of there was one of the horcruxes, and the devils fire was one way of destroying one. Mostly, we used Basilisk fangs or the Sword of Gryffindor, though."

"And then we had to keep Riddle from getting the Deathly Hallows," she said.

"The what?" Draco asked.

"Do you remember the childhood story of the three brothers?" she asked.

"Oh, the three wizards who encountered Death on the bridge and won three objects from him?" Draco asked.

"That's the one," she said. "Turns out there was a lot of truth to that old kiddy's tale. Dumbledore left me a book that had the story in it, and when we finally figured out why, it turned out we needed to locate them to make sure Riddle couldn't use them against us.

"Harry always had one of them. His father's old invisibility cloak was the cloak from the story, because it turned out the Potters were descended from one of the three brothers, who all were from Godric's Hollow where his parents lived. Riddle would have got that cloak, too, when he killed Harry's parents, but James Potter had loaned it to Dumbledore at the time.

"Harry also had the stone, the one that supposedly brings back the dead, but he didn't know it because Dumbledore had hidden it inside a snitch, and we never found a way to open it. Harry lost that one in the Forbidden Forest, and even he doesn't know where, so I don't think anyone will ever be able to put the Hallows together again. Besides, Riddle had unknowingly used it as one of his horcruxes, and it was one of the first ones that was destroyed, so the stone probably won't work now.

"The last one will be the most interesting one to you, Draco my dear, because it turns out you played the key role with it. The last Hallow was a wand made out of Elder wood, which was variously known in the magical world as the Deathstick or the Elder Wand. Supposedly, it cannot be defeated. At one time, Grindelwald was its master, but Dumbledore took it from him in their famous duel. And then, dear Draco, you defeated Dumbledore on the tower, and took the wand from him before Snape killed him. That's why Harry said you had been the true master of the Elder Wand in that last duel with Riddle. Harry had taken defeated you at the Manor, and that made Harry the true master of the wand when he dueled with Riddle. It's also why the Elder Wand refused to kill him, and rebounded the curse and killed Riddle instead."

"So, that's really one dangerous wand!" exclaimed Malfoy. "No wonder Potter is such a powerful wizard for our age."

"Well actually, he didn't keep the Elder Wand," Hermione said. "He used it to repair his old wand, which I accidentally broke," she added, somewhat embarrassed. "Then he and I hid it where no one will ever be able to get it again. If Harry dies a natural death without anyone ever defeating him, the power of the Elder Wand will die with him."

"Is it true you guys actually robbed Gringotts?" Draco asked, changing the subject. "Yes, we robbed your aunt's vault, actually," Hermione said. "One of the horcruxes was stored in there. I took polyjuice potion and pretended to be her, but it was almost a complete disaster. That's when I flew on a dragon, but that's when we lost the Sword of Gryffindor and didn't think we had any way to kill the other horcruxes. But Ronald came through magnificently when he remembered how to open the Chamber of Secrets, and he and I were able to get more basilisk fangs."

By the time Hermione had finished recapping the seventh year adventures, their plane was circling over Boston. "Wow! What a tale!" Malfoy said. "You sure managed to make those seven hours fly by, if you'll pardon the pun. Now, do me a favor! Hold my hand because I am absolutely convinced we are about to be destroyed when they try to get this contraption back on the ground!"


	10. Book 1, Chapter 10, The New World

BOOK 1, CHAPTER 10: THE NEW WORLD

BOOK 1, CHAPTER 10: THE NEW WORLD

Draco Malfoy practically broke all the fingers on Hermione Granger's left hand by the time the British Airways jet landed on the runway at Logan Airport. He had only turned white on takeoff, but by the time they bounced around in a turbulent holding pattern over the Atlantic, he was a light shade of green. The two friends had little trouble getting through Customs or gathering up their trunks and other belongings. Hermione had kept her beaded bag with her as carryon departing Heathrow by having Harry hold it while she went through security, then using Accio to get it. In Boston, she simply hid it on the plane, then went to a secluded part of the airport and used Accio again.

When they got outside, Draco summoned a taxi and gave the driver 350 Third Street in Cambridge for an address. Draco couldn't believe how hard it was to get out of the airport. "Maybe we should have just unpacked the brooms," he said with a frown. Then he was totally freaked out when the cabbie shot through the tunnels under Boston Harbor.

Hermione gasped as they pulled up to a beautiful and modern looking white stone high rise. "Look at the size of those windows," she exclaimed. "Best address in Cambridge," said the cabbie. "Draco, we surely can't afford this!" she said. "You let me worry about the apartment. It's already paid for. I told you I'm not living in the slums," Malfoy said.

"Look. This place is perfect," Draco said, helping the driver set out their baggage and paying him. "MIT is only two blocks away, an easy walk for you if you want, or we'll buy you a bike, or better yet, you'll find a place on campus where you can apparate to without being seen. It's also only two blocks to one of those main transit "T" stations that Ginny mentioned, and there's direct transportation from there to Harvard. Unlike you, however, I expect I'll apparate most days."

"No doubt," she said with a smirk. "I'm sure that will further your muggle education no end."

"I think you'll like our place," Draco said. "It's on the 23rd Floor, the very top. It's a corner unit, and according to the floor plan, each of the two bedrooms has its own walk in bathroom. What I think we'll both like the best is that the bedrooms are at opposite ends of the penthouse, separated by a common room, so we'll have privacy when we want to get away from each other.

"It's all pre-wired up for that Internet thing you've been teaching me to use, and for muggle TV and telephone. And lest you think I'm paying for everything, all the utilities, as they call them here, are in your name, my dear. You will be paying those bills, and contributing to the food supply, and any other expenses. So don't feel you are a kept woman," he said with a big wink.

They entered the lobby, and both were literally stopped in their tracks. There was marble everywhere. A fountain bubbled. Off to one side was a huge common room called The Club, according to a sign. "Draco, it's beautiful!" exclaimed Hermione. "You haven't seen anything yet," he replied. "All of the units here are owned. We are sub-letting from a Harvard history professor who is going on a one-year overseas sabbatical to Italy. Our place is fully furnished and decorated, and I have seen pictures. I think you'll find it's quite a change from Hogwarts and Grimmauld Place, but I think you'll love it," he said as they stopped by the desk to check in.

"I purposely avoided anything that reminded me of Malfoy Manor, London row houses, or anything Victorian. If we're going to live in the New World, it should feel like the New World.

"The building comes with 24-hour concierge service, and twice a week maid service which you, my dear Hermione, are paying for. It will be just like having house elves, except we'll be paying for it and doing our own cooking. I'm sure you can handle that part, too, because I can't cook at all." A look of horror crossed her face. "But I'm willing to try to learn some basic cooking ideas," he added quickly.

"I've already got the keys," Draco told the woman at the desk, showing her the contract. She had them both sign a couple of additional documents, gave them security codes they would need for the elevator ("What the hell are 'elevators'?" Draco whispered to Hermione.) ("Shush!" she said. "Later.") and asked them about parking. "We won't be needing any," Hermione said. "We're used to public transportation; we'll mostly be using the 'T'," she added.

Hermione dragged Draco over to the elevator bank. "These are lifts, Draco," she said. "You've probably only seen them before at the Ministry of Magic, and there, they have operators to make them move up and down. These are self-service, so you push the arrow here in the direction you want to go, and that summons a car." A pair of white marble doors slid open. "Inside we go," she said. "Next, you have to push a button for the floor you want. You said 23rd floor?" she said, pushing the button to show him.

When they reached the top floor, they found the elevator opened directly across from Unit 10, which Draco said was theirs. He used the key. The door swung open, and Hermione nearly swooned on the spot. "Oh, Merlin's beard! My god, Draco, we're going to live here?" she exclaimed in delight, looking around at all the marble. Chrome and glass had been used extensively in decorating, but all the seating was well-padded and extremely soft and comfortable leather. A couple of the walls were lined with bookcases, and Hermione immediately found several interesting technical books on the shelves. The view from the common room was straight out over the Charles River, looking on downtown Boston, and it was breathtaking.

"Each of the bedrooms has a big picture window as well," Draco said. "You check them both out, and then take your choice, milady," he added with a smile. She walked into both by turns, also looking into the bathrooms. Finding that both had tubs, she told him she would take the one with the view of the bridge, if he didn't mind. "That is really a very pretty bridge," she added.

"One thing, Draco," she said with a question in her eyes, "there's no linens on the beds or in the bathrooms."

"Hermione, you worry about the most practical details," he said with a chuckle. "Guess what. There's no food in the fridge or pantry, either. But it will be here shortly. I made an initial order, and scheduled it all for delivery in, oh, let's see," he said looking at his muggle watch, "about ten minutes from now. So just go get unpacked and don't worry about a thing. Mister Malfoy has everything under control," said the blond boy with another wink.

The next week was filled with settling in, checking in with their schools, buying their books, and the other shopping they needed to complete to set up their housekeeping. They learned the bus and subway routes, explored Boston and the surrounding towns, and paid a visit to the Salem School of Witching and Wizarding because Professor McGonagall had asked them to. They got their school schedules, and together, explored one another's campus. They found a few hours each night to explore some of the local nightlife. Draco discovered that the building had a fitness club.

When school started, they found themselves buried in class work and homework. Draco, in particular, had a lot of catching up to do since he was so generally unfamiliar with the non-magical world. His class work was largely in the JFK School of Government, but he needed a great deal of history background in order to progress at a satisfactory rate. Luckily, their apartment was the property of a history professor, so most of the books were on their shelves.

Hermione had less problems adjusting to her course work. As a lifetime bookworm, she already had a strong background in both non-magic and magic physics and mathematics. Most of her course work revolved around catching up with latest advances and theories in muggle physics.

"I've always thought that our world and their world are much more closely connected than we would like to think," Hermione explained to Draco over dinner one night. "In fact, I think one of the biggest problems that the Death Eaters had as a group was the failure to understand how closely connected both worlds are. You know, those who have promoted the idea of wizards having a right to rule have often claimed that muggle borns and half bloods have stolen their powers from pure blood wizards and witches. Umbridge actually held an inquisition based on that idea. They ignore the fact that species evolve, and that those born with magical powers are a product of evolution.

"My theory is that most magic is based on physics. It's just that we have discovered different ways to apply physics to perform tasks, just as the muggles have also applied physics in ways we don't always understand or use. The basis of our power, however, is some form of mental control of physical forces. We are somehow able to tune into matter at an elemental level and control it. For example, when Harry was 10 years old, long before he knew he was a wizard, he managed to make the glass in a zoo exhibit disappear. He allowed a snake to escape, and actually spoke parcel tongue to it without even knowing he had done it. And when his cousin Dudley fell into the exhibit, Harry rematerialized the glass.

"Some other examples are how we can use brooms to fly, or how we manage apparition. The most modern muggle physics accounts for the makeup of the universe by both matter that they can see and control, and other forms of counter-balancing matter they call dark matter, or sometimes 'foam'. I think what we do when we fly or apparate is find a way to get traction from the foam…the stuff that holds the more visible types of matter together. I think we use our mental focus to 'grab hold' of the foam like the tires on a muggle car grab the road.

"I think that the main purpose of our wands is to allow us to focus our mental control and what we want to accomplish with a spell. Now, this is where I want to focus my own research, because there's a lot that goes on with wands, including the fact that wands choose their masters. There seems to be some sort of physical adjustment between the user and the tool that I can't explain yet." Hermione said.

"So how would you explain potion making, for example?" asked Draco, whose curiosity had truly been spurred by this conversation.

"Potion making is really pretty elementary," Hermione said. "It's just chemistry, really. The difference is that the magical world has learned to use a lot of different ingredients that the muggles either don't know about, haven't tried, or have lost the knowledge of the past. It's just a combination of elements, many of which are very complex molecules. Do you know what a molecule is, Draco?" she asked him.

"Yeah, I think so. A combination of atoms isn't it?" Malfoy said.

"Right, held together by attractions at an even more elemental level…sometimes all the way down to the particle level." Hermione said. "Particles are the things at the sub-atomic level that, among other things, make up atoms and foam."

"Well, if it's just chemistry, why don't potions work if you don't put the ingredients together in just the right order, or stir them a certain number of times clockwise or counter-clockwise?" he asked, a bit of a smug challenge in his voice.

"Again, I think most of that has to do with how we focus our mental energy when we are making the potion," she said with a smile. "The reason you and I can make a potion and a muggle can't is because we have not only learned to combine ingredients, but to control the way they combine at an elemental level. But we don't really know that's what we're doing, any more than we know we are controlling light and energy when we use our wands to control matter. It's subconscious for us, and we're born with the ability. That's the talent that separates a potential student at Hogwarts from another person. What we learn at school is ways to control the talent we're born with, but it's still just another way to control the physical world."

"You know, you really are the most brilliant witch ever!" exclaimed Malfoy. Hermione's face turned bright red. "In just two hours, you've managed to get my head spinning with ideas I've never thought about before. And here's another idea. If wizards really understood what you're talking about, imagine how much more powerful we could become, because we would make more effort to learn to control even more."

"Careful, Draco dear," Hermione said. "When you talk like that, you start to sound more like a typical Malfoy than someone who has turned from the dark side. If you think about it, I believe you'll find that's exactly what your father and Riddle and his followers were playing around with. That's a really dangerous way to think. We shouldn't really be thinking about more ways to become powerful. Evolution is taking care of that. Our talents give us a survival advantage. What we need to be thinking about is finding ways to integrate magic and physics for the good of all people.

"I really hope that's the central point in your own studies," she continued. "You learn to work more closely with muggles, and I'll learn to give you knowledge that will be worth something to them.

"Now, I don't know about you, but my head is spinning from this conversation! I say we give the books and studying a break for tonight. Let's go dancing!" she said.

As a matter of fact, dancing was one of the interests Hermione and Draco truly shared. They had both developed a love of muggle pop music over the past couple of years, and there certainly was no shortage of clubs in the Boston area. At least once, and usually twice a week, they took much needed breaks from the books, and found places with up and coming local bands. One popular place was The Jukebox, and they also liked TT The Bears because it was closer.

While they both danced really well together, both of them also liked dancing with other people. Practically the first night out on the town, Malfoy had learned he would need to control any feelings of jealousy, because Hermione had grown into a very attractive young woman, and she seemed to exude sexuality on the dance floor. The first night at The Jukebox, a muscular guy had come up to him and asked Draco if he minded if he danced with his date. "She's a free agent," Draco said, and that was the last he saw of her that night. He controlled his envy by ending up in the arms of a very attractive redhead.

He soon got used to her being hit on almost everywhere they went, and to her penchant for experimentation. "I told you when we made these plans that we grew up with way too many rules, and I'm here to break as many of them as I can before I have to grow up," she said. Most evenings, he settled for the fact that at the end of the night, she would go home with him. But there were nights when she disappeared, and he supposed she had gone off to spend the night with someone she had met at the club. His instinct to protect her kicked in, and it wasn't long before he started complaining that she should at least come and tell him she was leaving, and where she planned to go. Of course, the fact that he often did the same thing didn't cross his mind.

"You are not my jailer!" she retorted one morning after she had come in really late. "I just don't want you wandering off with one of these strangers, and finding out later that he hurt you," Draco said defensively. "You have nothing to worry about," she said. "A wand is a wonderful defensive tool."

"And have you had to use it in your defense?" he accused. "Actually, yes. I've laid out a couple of these blokes, but you should know I've gone to bed with a couple of them too," she said. "Look, here's the main point. One of these days, Ronald is going to ask me to marry him. You know that as well as I do. When that moment comes, I want to know that he really is the only one for me. And I think I can only find that out by being with some other guys to see how they measure up to Ron."

On September 19, Draco took Hermione into Boston for her birthday dinner. They had New England Clam Chowder and lobsters, then he took her to the hottest dance club in Boston, and succeeded in keeping her to himself all night. He gave her a gold and diamond charm for the bracelet he had given her the preceding Christmas, one he had crafted himself with several Boston memories kept within. When they got home, she surprised him by spinning into his arms and kissing him softly. "Thank you for being my friend," was all she said.

Several weeks later, they met a young man named Michael Donner at TT's. Hermione, Draco and Donner seemed to hit it off right away, but it turned out that Michael had a problem. He was AWOL from the Army, and essentially homeless. "I'm not proud of myself, but I've been finding places to stay mostly by picking up girls in bars," he said with refreshing candidness. "The US wants to send me back to Bosnia for the third time, and I just don't think it's fair." A few dances, a few muggle beers, and Michael was invited back to their place to sleep on the couch.

A couple of days stretched into a couple of weeks, and one afternoon, Draco returned early from class to find Donner and Hermione in her room. "You could have bothered to close the damn door," Malfoy said with and evil smirk. A couple of red faces and naked torsos peeked out from beneath the covers. "Has this been going on long? I thought we had an agreement not to bring this part of our lives home," he said with annoyance.

Pulling the covers up to her chin, Hermione said, "I really like him Malfoy, not that it's any of your business."

"Right," he said. "It's not, but it's almost Christmas. What do you suppose Ron is going to say about this arrangement when he comes over to visit?"

"Ronald does not own me any more than you do!" she said. "And I don't need you to protect me from any of my boyfriends," she added.

Hermione would never know about the knot in Draco's stomach every time he saw her with another man. There were times it was so intense, he wanted to vomit. There were times he could not study, he could not eat. There were times when his only recourse was to go down to the fitness center and work off his frustration. He felt it was unfair that she could not see, could not feel the way about him that he felt about her. He had told her a year ago, and told her it was nothing new. But it was clear she didn't believe him, or that she wanted something else. So, he suffered in silence, convinced that the best way to love her was to let her have whatever she wanted, whether it was good for her or not. But not this time. Anyone could see that Donner had mental problems and legal problems, and that he was only going to hurt her or drag her down.

The next day, Malfoy did some research, and picked up the telephone to make a couple of calls.

The day after that, when Donner headed out to do some shopping, he found two members of the Military Police sitting in an olive drab sedan outside the apartment building. Above, Draco watched from a window as they handcuffed him and put him in the back of the car. And when Hermione got home from class, he had the awful duty of telling her that her boyfriend had been arrested, and hauled away in handcuffs; the painful duty of holding her and letting her cry on his shoulder.

By now, it was mid-December. Ron sent a letter letting them know he would have two weeks off for the Christmas and New Years league break, and that he was flying to Boston to stay with them. School broke for the holidays a week later, and the roommates took a cab out to Logan Airport to meet the redhead. Malfoy was not delighted, but by now, he had learned how to put on the appropriate show around them. In fact, Christmas was actually very pleasant, although the fact that Ron was sleeping in Hermione's room, and not on the couch, had Malfoy gritting his teeth at bedtime. Some nights, he compensated by picking up a girl at a bar or calling one of the muggle girls he had already bedded, and bringing them back to the apartment to make the point.

They spent most of the time shopping and decorating, or taking Ron around to the local clubs and tourist sights in Boston. One night, they went to Boston Garden to see the Celtics host the Wizards, not exactly knowing what to expect. What they saw was a form of Quidditch played on a small hardwood court with only one ring at each end. There was only a quaffle, and no snitch or bludgers, but the game was exciting in its own way.

"Do you suppose they use any magic?" Ron asked.

"I don't think so," Hermione said, although some of them certainly can throw that ball through the goal from a long way out!" Draco couldn't get over how big some of the players were.

"Almost don't need brooms to fly," he exclaimed.

They put up a tree, and used magic to decorate it so they would have a sense of home. On Christmas Eve, they roasted a standing rib, made Yorkshire pudding and Plum Cake with Hard Sauce. Malfoy had found a special bottle of 12-year-old French wine in a local shop. Malfoy had also invited one of his girl friends, a lithe blond from California named Lindsay, to spend the evening with them. Needless to say, she was enchanted by the magical fairies and stars decorating the apartment, and wanted to know how they worked. When they told her they boys were wizards, and Hermione was a witch, she got a big laugh. They didn't even need to use a memory charm the next morning.

On Christmas morning, they exchanged gifts as per custom, and Hermione received 'A Short History Of The Universe' from Draco. She got Ron a braided copper bracelet with knobs on each end, telling him that according to muggle physics, it would give him more energy and help his injuries heal faster.

Ron asked Hermione to sit with him under the tree. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small ring box. "Like Harry and Ginny, I don't suppose we are ready to get married just yet," he said, "but I do love you more than anything, and I want you for my wife. Will you wear my ring?"

Hermione smiled, and tears trickled from both eyes. She had been afraid Ron would take the opportunity, and now the time had come. "Ron, this is a bit of a surprise," she lied. "I didn't expect I'd have to think about this until school was over and we were more settled in our lives. I'm so honored, but can you give me until New Year's Eve to think about it?"

"Uh, well sure, Hermione," he said awkwardly. "No pressure, no problem," he added, clearly having not expected any reluctance on her part.

The week passed far too quickly for Hermione, and far too slowly for Ron. On December 30, she slipped into Draco's room. "Can I talk to you awhile," she asked. "Sure," the blond boy replied.

"I just don't know what to tell Ronald right now," she said. "I always knew this was going to happen. I think that maybe I knew it when I was 12 years old. But the trouble is that he and I went through so much together with Harry, and it took me a very long time to realize consciously how I always felt subconsciously. In the meantime, he's become sort of like an old rubber overshoe, always around and always protective, and I know I can count on him.

"But Draco, sometimes there's just no passion, except when we argue, and we do that too much I sometimes think. Don't get me wrong…sex is good with Ron. But I don't think I feel the love in the act that he feels. It worries me. I can't see myself as a little country housewife like Molly Weasley, raising a house full of kids. There has to be more in my life than that," she said.

"Hermione, I can't tell you what to feel," Malfoy said. "I especially can't and won't tell you what to do, and you know why. I'm too selfish. All I want for you is that you are happy, and that you somehow continue to include me in your life. But I'm also not stupid. Between me and Weasley, there is no question where you will have the more stable and predictable life.

"Frankly, I doubt that it matters in my life whether you choose him, or some other bloke, because I don't think you can see yourself with me under any circumstance. So, what can it hurt to wear his ring? Send him home happy. For Harry and Ginny, this step was an unbreakable promise and commitment, but it doesn't have to be for you. You can always change your mind if you want," Draco said.

She put her arms around him. "You have become an amazing guy, Draco Malfoy. Thank you for being my friend. Thank you for being my sounding board. Thank you for taking such good care of me. Sometimes I wish we could go back in time and take a different road, don't you?" she said.

"Yes, Hermione, I do that, with all my heart," he said, "but the muggles have a saying about the path not taken, and the time in your life you can waste thinking about it. In our world, we still have to live with the choices we make. That's what Dumbledore was trying to teach us. I didn't get it, but you and Harry and Ron all did. Your road leads a different place than mine, I'm afraid."

The next night, they took Ron to The Jukebox to welcome in the 21st Century, one of the major milestones in both the muggle and magic worlds. "You know, if we were in London, we would be amazed at seeing the celebration live," Ron said as they watched various celebrations from around the world on television. "Don't sell Boston short," said Lindsay Oliver, Draco's California girl. In fact, the fireworks display across the Charles was worthy of the Weasley joke shop.

"Let's start the Millennium off right," Hermione whispered in Ron's ear as they danced in the first hour. He had been too concerned to press her, but smiled a big smile, lifted her off the floor, twirled her around when she told him she had decided she would wear the ring. He didn't notice that she carefully avoided saying she would marry him. They went back to their table, and he slipped it on her finger while their friends, including Malfoy, gave them a standing ovation.

The night would have been perfect for Ron, except he had a bit too much to drink. So, when another boy from a different group asked Hermione to dance, and she accepted, he was not pleased. And when the boy let his hands stray down her back to her butt, Ron whipped out his wand and fired off a full body curse that dropped the poor unsuspecting kid like a stone, dragging Hermione along with him to the floor. In the ensuing turmoil, Draco and Hermione had to fire off memory charms left and right just to get their group out the door.

"Ronald, I've half a mind to give you back this ring already," Hermione railed at him. But Draco and Lindsay were laughing, and she was going on and on about how they really must be wizards. "All I can say is that it's a damn good thing we're not in England after all, or the next stop would be the Ministry of Magic courtroom," Malfoy said, barely managing to get it out between horselaughs. "Actually, Hermione, I've wanted to do the same thing several times this past year," he whispered to her so their friends couldn't hear. Her eyes flew open, and she blushed.

On Monday, they took Ron to the airport. He was due to report to the Canons at midweek. Promises were made, hugs and kisses and handshakes were exchanged. But as they watched the silver bird rise into the sky, it was Draco and Hermione who were gently holding hands.

"Do you remember the at the beginning of term when we were talking about the path not taken?" Draco asked Hermione one night as they sat together in the common room, doing homework.

"Humm, yes, sort of," she said.

"Hermione, do you think time travel is possible?" he asked. "I mean does it fit in with your concepts of physics and magic?"

"That's a really good question," she said. She was silent for quite a long time, mulling over her answer. "I don't really think so, Draco. First of all, I am certain you can't go forward, like to the future. I don't think in our universe there is a future beyond where we are in time until we experience it. Think of it like this…if time was like a beam of light, we are on the very front edge of the light wave. My best evidence for this is that if the future already existed, and time travel was possible, then we would have been visited by time travelers."

"Maybe we have been, and we just don't know it because they choose not to make themselves known," he said.

"No," she replied. "I don't think that argument holds up given human nature. For example, if you went far enough out in the future that either muggles or wizards had learned how to travel back through time, then it seems certain to me there would be bad people who wouldn't care about changing the past, or whether we knew about them or not. No, I think the fact that we don't know of any time travelers from the future is proof positive that either there is no existing future, or that there is no time travel, or both.

"Now, I think we can eliminate the idea that time travel to and from the future is possible, but going back in time is really a different question then, isn't it? We know there is a past," she said. "Again, if we envision time as a beam of light, which is really how astronomers see it presently, then it is more like a continuous stream backwards from where we are on the front edge of time. We know light has physical properties; that it is made up of energy and particles.

"Theoretically, we wizards could use light for traction to travel, just like we use dark matter now. If time is made up the same way, then there is no reason we couldn't use it the same way too," she said. "It would just be a matter of learning how to get traction. We know there were time-turners. I used one myself third year to take a double class load. But I think they only worked over short periods of time; you know, just several hours, not days or weeks, and certainly not years. A time-turner is more like setting back a clock. They're all destroyed now, anyway.

"I also know the Department of Mysteries continues to work on time travel. But again, here's the thing: They've been working on it for centuries! I am pretty sure they have done some remarkable things in that Department. That's why I want to work there. I think they may have even opened some connections between universes. I think that's why we can contact people who have died. But I don't think they've found any way to move between universes, or to travel in time.

"Also, I think that would be a very dangerous thing to learn, and I don't think anyone has learned to do it yet. Think about the way you started this conversation. You asked, 'Do you think time travel is possible?' I don't know why you asked, but I suspect there are things you would change if you could go back, right?"

"Well, yeah, no question," Draco said.

"See, I think that's the problem with going backwards. As we talked about that one day, there are always a lot of possible paths at any point in time, and you choose which ones to follow. If you go back too far and pick a different path, it is highly likely you change not only that path, but also all the roads that followed from the first choice. Seems to me that could only lead to disaster eventually, because once again, some people with less than honorable motives would go back and change something that would destroy the world, or at least the world as everyone else senses it.

"I mean, here's the worst case scenario. Suppose someone travels back in time and changes the very paths that lead to the discovery of how to travel back in time. What happens then, even to the time traveler? But if that's what happens to him, how did he get to the spot in the future where he began his trip? See, this creates what some scientists call a paradox, a question that essentially cannot be resolved," she said.

"And anyway, while it's a good question for you and me to sit around and talk about, it's really moot. Even if it's possible, you and I don't know how, so we're not going anywhere, are we?" she said with a big grin and a pat on Draco's knee.

The rest of the winter passed uneventfully. The routine of classes, studying, housekeeping and the occasional night out kept both Draco and Hermione extremely busy. Or, as Draco remarked one night, "It's no fun being smart!"

Spring came early, however, and the two were glad to be able to spend more time outdoors, often taking long walks around Cambridge, watching rowing on the Charles, and other students walking hand in hand. Hermione had decided she never really owned any true summer clothes, so she snuck off to do some shopping in the trendy shops aimed at the student population. She returned with a dozen bags, and then pretty much took Draco's breath away with some short tops and shorter shorts. After Ron had left, she had decided she was getting fat, not that Draco could see it, and started working out with him in the fitness club. As her training rate improved, he started pushing her harder towards his own pace.

With spring, they started running outside, and she discovered there was a big difference between indoor and outdoor exercise. In early April, he pushed her past her normal limit on a long run, and when they returned to the apartment at dusk, she could barely move. Her feet were in agony, her muscles tight and sore.

"Ok, my little witch," Draco said with a smirk. "I guess it's time for Coach Malfoy to help you out again. First thing, go run as hot a tub as you can stand, and go steep in it for a while. When you get out, don't get dressed. Just wrap yourself up in a towel and come into your bedroom, where I'll be waiting for you."

When Hermione got out of the bath and entered the bedroom, she gasped in surprise. Draco had covered her bed with an immense towel, and lighted magical candles all around the room. "Lie down please, face down," he commanded. Keeping towel around herself, she shyly complied. "One of the things you don't know about me is that I became an excellent masseur when I captained the Quidditch team," he said. "Now, what I have here are several bowls of warmed oils. Some of them are fragrant, some are invigorating, and some are decadently relaxing. When I am done with you, you will be massaged within an inch of your life," he added with a trace a braggadocio in his voice.

He started with her sore feet. Using some of the oil, he gently rubbed and squeezed, lightly tickling the soles, then massaging out the tension. He used a special oil on the couple of angry red spots where her trainers had rubbed the wrong way. He continued up her ankles and calves, rubbing the tightness out of the muscles and joints. Before working higher, he decided to work on her back. "Take off that damn towel," he commanded.

He climbed up on the bed, placing one knee on either side of her butt. Switching to one of the fragrant oils, he began with the back of her neck and worked his way down. Hermione began to moan with the pleasure of his touch as he worked his way over her shoulder blades and down to the light down in the place where her spine met her cheeks. He slid his hands around on her sides, and up her rib cage, then began to work on each of her arms in turn, wrapping his hands around them, and stroking them.

Sliding a little lower, he chose one of the mildly analgesic oils for the back of her thighs and buttocks. Knowing these were the tightest muscles, he spent a great deal of time kneading and sliding his long sensitive fingers over the smooth slick skin. By now, Hermione was practically purring, and she gasped with anticipation when he slipped his hands to the insides of her legs. He was now sweating from the work, so he slipped off his shirt. "Roll over," he directed.

She didn't even think twice. "See, you really can trust me," he said, gazing down on her naked body. He thought to himself that he had never seen anything more beautiful, and he was not inexperienced. Choosing another fragrance, he started at her shoulders and worked his way down over her breasts, making them as slippery as possible. Hermione was groaning in pleasure, and he could feel her starting to try to lift her hips off the bed as he circled his oily fingers over her.

Suddenly, she reached up off the bed and grabbed him around the neck. Opening her mouth, she drew him down into a passionate kiss, getting oil all over his own upper torso while she was at it. Holding the kiss, they slipped seductively against each other, and now they both were panting and moaning. "Take off your shorts," she ordered. "You're not the only one who gives orders here tonight!"

It only took him a couple of moments to be just as naked on the bed as she was. She looked him over with lust in her eyes, seeing the beautifully sculpted athletic body and chiseled face. He loomed over her again, and now used more oil for the smooth taught skin of her stomach. Reactively, she began to open for him, and he let his oiled fingers trail over her. "Come into me," she gasped. "Finish me, please," she begged.

He took a finger and place it on the two little scars below her lip, and stroked them lightly. "Hush now," he said. She rubbed her hands over her own breasts, picking up some of the oil on her palms, and then reached down to capture him. He gasped in surprise and pleasure. "Now Draco," she said, and this time he knew there was no delaying. She guided him, and he pressed into her, and the lubrication let him sink to the hilt. He felt her tighten around him.

Looking into her eyes, he seized her mouth with his again, but they both needed air they were panting so intently. "Oh Merlin…oh god…it's never been like this before," he gasped, and for her part, Hermione just kept urging him to keep going as she rose higher and higher towards the crest. And then suddenly, they were in a place neither had ever been before, with every nerve ending alive with pleasure and release, floating together and hoping it would never end.

When they could think again, she looked up at him. "You weren't kidding about learning how to give a massage, were you?" she panted.

"How do you feel? Think you'll live?" he asked with a chuckle and a peck on the forehead.

"Oh I think maybe, but now I'm just so tired. Will you stay with me tonight? I think I'd like to go to sleep and wake up with you holding me."

The next morning was a little tense. "Believe me, I never meant to seduce you," he said. "I care way too much for you to do that."

"And believe me, that was the one single rule I never ever planned to break," Hermione said. "My life was complicated and conflicted enough without you in it in that way. Why couldn't you just go back to being the evil conceited prat I always thought you were? Then my life was simple. I thought I hated you. I thought you hated me. I thought I loved Ron and Harry, and that it was Ron I would want in the end."

"Well, I guess we've really screwed our lives up now," he said, and they both laughed at the unintended pun.

"I guess, but I'm not sorry," she said. "At some point, I guess I had to find out how it would be with you. But why did it have to be so good?"

"Maybe you love me more than you think you do," he said. "Maybe you love me the way I love you."

"Maybe so. But let's try to keep a little separation in our lives until we get back home," she said. "I've got to think a lot about this, and I don't think I can if you're in my bed. I'm not sure it's fair to the others, because you've got me to yourself right now."

"Yeah, I can see that. It is unfair competition, isn't it?" he said with a laughing smirk.

"You insufferable git!" she said to him with a laugh, and then she threw her arms around him and kissed him again.

"Besides, school is almost over, we've got to start packing up and getting ready to go home. Oh, by the way, it's your turn to handle the arrangements this time," he said with a big grin.

The next few weeks were a springtime flurry of tests, thesis defenses, and packing. The first week of June, Hermione arrived home early to find a letter from Michael Donner in the mail. It was short, and to the point.

**_Hey bitch:_**

**_ Thanks a lot. Six years in prison._**

**_ How nice of you to let them know where I was._**

**_ Better cover your trail by the time I get out!_**

She was stunned. Draco had only told her that he had seen the MPs arrest Michael. He had never gone into any details, and she supposed there was no reason Malfoy would know any. Now, she suddenly had a cold and very empty feeling in the pit of her stomach, and she could feel a hot band of pain and anger tightening around her heart. So, he had betrayed her after all. Just like always, he wanted to pretend he was protecting her from herself, when all he really wanted was to eliminate a rival.

By the time Malfoy returned, Hermione has worked herself into an angry lather. "Want to comment on this?" she said, throwing the piece of paper at him. He glanced at it. "Not really," he said. "I guess he's crazy and needs to blame someone instead of himself."

"You turned him in!" she screamed at him.

"Proof?" he said. "Where's the proof? I didn't have anymore to do with the Army finding him than you did," he said, but he half turned away so she couldn't see the lie in his eyes. "Besides, he was the worst possible relationship for you at the time. He was bound to end up in prison, and if it had gone on much longer, it would have broken your heart when they hauled him off. If you'll remember, it was a very long night as it was."

"Over-protective as always," she shouted. "Damn it, Malfoy, it's my life, not yours. You have no right to interfere. And here we are, just at a place where it might have been really good between us, and I find I still can't trust you! Now, never! I wish I could just throw you out in the street, but thankfully, next week we're going home, and I won't have to put up with you any longer. You go get on with your life, and I'll get on with mine, and we'll just have to live without the path not taken."

The week passed in stony silence between them. They finished their exams, got their grades, packed their belongings. He slept in his room, she slept in hers. When it came time to leave for the airport, she grudgingly accepted his help as they got their belongings to the curb and checked out.

As the cab pulled away, Malfoy looked back at the building, and thought to himself that he had never been so happy as he had been there, and yet, that he had probably never really destroyed his own happiness to such a great extent before. Hermione sat far over on her side of the seat, and did not look back at all.

When they got on the plane, where she had made all the arrangements, he was not surprised to be sitting several rows behind her.


	11. Book 1, Chapter 11, Magical Career Paths

BOOK 1, CHAPTER 11: MAGICAL CAREER PATHS

No one was happier to see Hermione Granger back in London than Ron Weasley. While he now felt more confident that Hermione was indeed his girl, his basic insecurities had made the time between New Years and her return a stream of constant nightmares, many of which featured Draco Malfoy. However, once he had her back in England, he not only had more control, but also sensed that something had strained the relationship between the Slytherin and his girl friend.

For her part, Hermione was also grateful to be away from Malfoy's constant company. Of course, she went back to sharing Grimmauld Place with Harry Potter. They made excellent roommates, by comparison with Malfoy, because they were so much on the same wavelength. She guessed that was probably the main reason there had never been a true romantic attraction between them; they were too much alike, so they were not really "interesting" to each other in that way.

From Boston, Hermione had sent resumes to a number of Ministry departments in which she was interested in working. She was extremely pleased to get an interview in the Department of Mysteries, for as she had told Draco, that was where she really wanted to work. She felt that she could apply her growing knowledge of muggle physics to the subjects being studied in the basement of the Ministry, the very place where six members of Dumbledore's Army had once fought off Death Eaters. The very place where Sirius Black had been murdered.

Harry had graduated from first level Auror training, which meant that he was now in second level field training. This meant he was assigned fully trained partners on a rotating basis. It also meant that he was involved in the activities of several other Ministry departments when they needed investigative help. However, he constantly complained to Hermione that the work was really pretty mundane.

"I supposed I'm just jaded," he complained one night over dinner. "But chasing down rowdy teenagers who jinx muggle plumbing, or minor crooks like Mundungus Fletcher, who misuse magic to rip off both worlds, isn't anything like fighting Death Eaters."

"You got that right!" Hermione replied with a scowl. "I'm starting at the bottom, and not just because the Department is in the basement!" Harry nearly snorted pumpkin juice out his nose. "Here I am, the brightest witch of the age, sorting papers into alphabetized files. Why, it's almost more than I can handle, and I don't mean because it's hard," she groused. Hermione couldn't help but feel her talents were being totally wasted, and worse, there were times when there really was no work for her to do. To pass the time, she had gone to Flourish & Blotts in search of more rare books exploring the relationship between magic and physics. She spent down time in the office reading.

Now that Ron had his Quidditch career well established, he was able to get to London more often, and spend more time with Hermione. He had also received a sizeable increase on his contract as he had become the Cannons' starting keeper the year before, and contributed several near shutouts to their greatest rise in the standings in decades. The only real friction between Ron and Hermione was their continued arguing over nightlife.

Because she was so bored at work, Hermione was using constant clubbing and experimentation with potions, muggle recreational drugs, and alcohol to break up the monotony. She also was not entirely faithful to Ron, although she hoped he and Harry didn't know about her indiscretions. And, when Ron was in town, his growing notoriety as a sports star sometimes interfered with their dates.

Hermione remained very conflicted, almost a hypocrite, where her relationship with her boyfriend was concerned. On one hand, she wore his ring and professed her love, especially in the bedroom. On the other hand, she was uncertain about both her love life and her career life, frequently experimenting with lifestyles and other men. Ron had come to realize that she was not as committed to him as he was to her, even though he remained blissfully unaware of her cheating on him. Besides, debating with Hermione had become such a habit in the nearly ten years of their relationship that being without would probably be more noticeable.

Harry told Hermione that Cho Chang had been traded from Tutshill to the Harpies, and that had allowed Ginny to move to her more natural position of chaser where she led the team in goals scored. Ginny and Cho had become close friends as well as teammates, and Harry said he wasn't exactly thrilled to have his fiancé' and ex-girlfriend as best buddies.

As it turned out, late that year Ginny and Cho both came to visit, and Cho brought her boyfriend with her. She introduced him as Stephen Peddragon, a professional football player she had met as part of a Ministry sports exchange program. She had been fascinated by his unusual name, they had started chatting, one thing let to another, and they planned to get married at Christmas. Harry told Hermione he was relieved!

Ron also came that weekend, so the three couples went dancing. Once again, Ron was placed in the position of having to try to control Hermione's wild excesses. "I just don't know what gets into her," he complained to his sister after his girlfriend downed her third Martini and let an apparently strange guy grope her.

"I'm really worried this is some sort of residual self-esteem issue after what happened with Krum," Ginny replied.

When Ron tried to step in, it set off another loud argument with Hermione, ended when she shouted, "I may love you, but you don't own me!" and stalked out of the club. The other five never did find her that night, and were relieved when she finally crawled back into Grimmauld Place at 5 AM.

As for Draco Malfoy, his first year back in London passed relatively peacefully. It was a lonely one, however. He took his own apartment because he could not stand to be around Hermione and have her treat him coldly, or worse, ignore him altogether. He still had his monthly probation meetings with Harry, but Harry was happy to oblige by having them away from the house and the Ministry. For that reason, they usually met for lunch or dinner.

"What did you do to her?" Harry asked suspiciously the first time they met.

"I think I have probably done something she considers unforgivable," Draco said. "She is a very difficult personality. She can be so warm and loving, and at the same time, cold as a Slytherin. She is unpredictable to the extreme. She refuses to be protected or controlled. I think the very worst thing one can do to Hermione Granger is to interfere in her life without permission, and that's what I did."

Malfoy went on to tell Harry about Hermione's Cambridge boyfriend, and the risk Draco thought Michael had posed. "It was not just her relationship with Ron that was at risk, Harry," he said. "This was a very dangerous man. He was in trouble with the law. He was taking advantage of Hermione's greatest weaknesses, her desire to help those she perceives as being in trouble, and her conflicts over her relationships. I felt he was abusing both her trust and her emotions. And it could not end happily. Eventually, he was going to either go to jail, or dump her so he could keep running. So, I did something to speed up the process, and in meddling, drove her away.

"Well, at least you had her best interests at heart. This isn't like school where you treated her badly to torture and annoy her," Harry said, trying to comfort Malfoy, and starting to think of ways he might help repair their relationship.

"Well Harry, see that's another thing. You and most other people probably think I abused Hermione out of hate. The trouble is, nothing could be further from the truth. I now know that I teased her and hexed her just like a lot of little boys who don't want the girls they like to know it. See, the truth is, I really liked Hermione in school, and I wanted to be with her because I admired her, and I mistreated her because I couldn't be with her and I was jealous," he said.

"Does she know about that?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, I've told her. Actually, I've told her a lot more than that, and that's another reason. She thinks I just turned Michael in because I was jealous, and it didn't help that she and I had a one-night stand shortly before she found out."

"Oh crap!" Harry exclaimed. "Why do you people have to keep complicating my life? All I want is your friendship, not all your constant relationship problems. Who writes this stuff for you guys, anyway?"

Draco just smiled. "See Harry. This is what you and Ginny get for being the rocks the rest of us lean on."

The next year, Draco completed his training with the Department of International Affairs, Muggle Relations Division, and was posted back to the United States. Just before he left, Harry held a dinner in his honor at Grimmauld Place, and coerced everyone including Hermione to attend. It was a large party; the first time so many of them had been together in a couple of years.

Harry picked an off weekend for the league, so Ginny, Ron and Cho were all able to come. Stephen was injured, so he was able to attend. Luna and Neville both flooed in from Hogwarts, where both were now teaching. Harry invited Lavender Brown so Draco would have a dinner partner. He also was very careful to place Hermione between Ron and Draco at the table. She was not amused, but was a good sport.

Ron, of course, was his usual self at a meal. Never much for conversation anyway, at the table Ron was always quiet, intent on eating. That meant Hermione was stuck with Malfoy for conversation as Harry had tactically put Cho and Stephen across from her.

Draco was too smart to bring up sensitive issues. "Solved the mystery of time travel yet?" he asked her. "No, but I'm pretty sure that "P" comes after "O" in the alphabet," she complained. "So you're going back to the States, huh?" she continued. "Where?"

"Actually, California," he said. When she asked, he said that, yes, he actually had been in contact with Lindsay Oliver. She had graduated from Harvard at the end of the summer, and was taking graduate work at Stanford. "I've been posted to San Francisco, so I think we might try to get together," Draco said.

"She's a beautiful girl, Draco," Hermione said. "Of all your friends, she was always my favorite muggle because she seemed to understand and respect the magical world. You know, we never once had to use a memory charm on Lindsay, and we used some pretty awesome spells when she was around."

"Yeah, she's really attractive. Her hair is almost as blond as mine, and her eyes are sapphire blue. She's smart, she's nice, and if you'll pardon me for kissing and telling, she's damn good in bed."

"Well, so are you." Hermione leaned over and whispered that last part in his ear so no one else could hear. Draco smirked.

"Haven't forgotten that massage, eh?" he whispered back. Her face began to turn scarlet. "Look, it would be to your advantage to forget about that and get on with Ron. Harry has been telling me a bit about what you've been doing, and I think you're going to get hurt or catch some horrible disease if you keep it up," he added.

"Draco. Please. Just don't go there, OK? I mean, we're sitting here having a civil conversation for the first time in more than a year. I want to support your life, not meddle in it. Could you do the same for me?"

"Sure, Hermione. I'm sorry. I should have learned my lesson by now. It's only that I care," he said.

"I know," she said, and she leaned in and gave him a little hug, which captured Ron's attention as Harry smiled on the scene. Ron quickly changed tactics and picked up a new conversation subject with his girlfriend, and Draco turned his attention back to Lavender. "So, what's the future hold?" he asked her.

If 2001 had flown by, 2002 was a streak. Hermione was finally promoted. Harry completed his training and became a full-time Auror, partnered with Dirk Truncheon, who had been his field trainer.

Ginny again led the league in scoring, but said she was becoming tired of training, and wondered if Harry was about ready to settle down permanently. It wasn't unusual for Harpies players to get pregnant and raise families; not for nothing were some of them known as "Quidditch Moms". However, Ginny said she didn't want to have children and keep playing, and by the way, she wasn't going to have children until they were married, either!

The turning point came when Ron was seriously injured. He was trying to block a shot and had his back turned towards the rings, so he never saw the bludger that hit him in the back of the head. He fell 30 feet to the ground. Hermione rushed to St. Mungo's, and it was touch and go for several days. Molly, Arthur and Hermione all took turns waiting and watching, and it happened to be Hermione on duty when he finally came around.

His first word was, "Funny." He smiled at her. "I dreamed about you constantly," he said. "And I had a long talk with Fred, and I told him that I wasn't going to stay, and that I was coming back to you because it's time we got married."

"Are you asking, Ronald?" Hermione said.

"Yeah, I am," he said. "Let's stop all this silly stuff and set a date, if you'll still have me." Hermione had given herself lots of time to think. In particular, she had thought a lot about Draco Malfoy's comments about the risks she was taking. She had thought a lot about the men she had been with, and what life would be like with some of them. In some ways, she missed the days when she had allowed rules to regulate her life; it hadn't been any safer, but it was more predictable.

She had decided that it was time for stability, and she was finally confident in her answer. "Yes, Ron, I think next spring would be an ideal time for a wedding in the garden at the Burrow, don't you."


	12. Book 1, Chapter 12, Double Wedding

BOOK 1, CHAPTER 12: DOUBLE WEDDING

As soon as Hermione and Ron told Ginny and Harry about their decision, they began to think about their own plans. And considering the relationship among the four of them, it was the most natural thing that they decided to have a double wedding. The four flooed to the Burrow to consult with Molly and Arthur. Of course, they were delighted to have Harry and Hermione in the family. "You're so much like our own kids, this almost seems like incest," Molly kidded them.

A look at the 2003 calendar found them an available spring date, June 14th. Hermione sent her mom and dad a note in Australia to make sure they could save the date and begin making travel plans. Arthur booked one of the Ministry officials to perform the ceremony, and the couples began sending owls to all their friends and family members.

Harry and Ron soon found that watching Molly, Ginny and Hermione plan anything was hilariously entertaining. For one thing, all three talked at once. For another, these were perhaps the three strongest female personalities in England. Each had her own ideas, and a firm conviction in their basic rightness, regardless of what the other two thought.

Over the next few months, Ron, Harry and Arthur were literally driven from the Burrow by the bickering. The girls couldn't even agree on whether to go shopping for their wedding dresses in Hogsmeade, Diagon Alley, or London muggle shops. In the end, Molly forced a compromise on them. She hired a private dressmaker, and informed them that, since they would be sisters in law, they both would wear identical dresses.

Of course, as nice as that sounded, it still took 60 days for the two girls to agree on a design that satisfied both of them. In the end, the design was a low cut shoulder-less gown with an empire waist, and a moderate, flowing train, really more of an extended hemline that pooled behind the dresses. Because of their different coloring, the two dresses differed slightly in detailing. Hermione's honey colored eyes and darker hair were set off by some pink accents, while Ginny's red hair and green eyes were better accented with some mint green trim notes. Ron's little athletic sister also took her share of ribbing over the "girlie" lace and sequins.

Late in March, they received news that Draco Malfoy had been reposted back to England. Even more newsworthy was the fact that he was apparently returning with a wife! As soon as they were able to make contact, Harry and Hermione arranged another dinner party at Grimmauld Place, although this time they limited the guests to Ginny and Ron, plus the Malfoys.

It was no surprise to Hermione when Draco's wife turned out to be none other than Lindsay Oliver, his blond muggle friend from Harvard.

"We got together again almost as soon as I got to San Francisco," said Draco. "I needed a place, and she took me in," he said with a grin, wrapping his arm around her shoulders, "both literally and figuratively, I guess you could say. We dated a few months, and just decided we were being silly if we didn't get married. So as soon as Lindsay graduated, her parents put on this big shindig, and we tied the knot."

"You really picked up the US accent, didn't you?" Ron asked, noticing how less formal Draco sounded.

"We're all so happy for you, Draco," Hermione said, but she couldn't help but feel a little twinge of remorse over something that might have been, and now was lost.

"Yeah, mate," said Harry. "The funny thing is I guess I never dreamed you would beat Ginny and me to the alter. Life takes funny twists and turns, doesn't it? We often get both the things we don't want, and the things we want the most, thrust on us when we least expect them."

"Will you guys be coming to our weddings?" Ron asked.

"When are they?" Lindsay asked.

"June 14 at Ron's family home in southwest England," Hermione said. "We're having a double wedding. Harry and Ginny are getting married at the same time with us." Draco rolled his eyes. "How's the back, Ron," he asked, obviously changing the subject. "Heard you got hurt," he added.

"Well, it's OK if I don't put too much strain on it," Ron said with a grimace. "I'm afraid my career is over, though. And Hermione's going to have to carry herself over the threshold!" he added with a chuckle. The men veered off into a discussion of the latest Quidditch standings, Harry and Draco rather pleased to be getting the inside scoop from Ron.

"Where are you guys living?" Hermione said, turning to Lindsay. "Oh, Malfoy Manor," she replied. "Been down to the dungeons yet?" Hermione asked. "I don't know if he told you, but I spent a pretty bad couple of days there once."

"Yes, actually Draco has told me all about his dark side career," the blond woman replied. "Personally, I think I'm hoping they don't ever let his parents out. He's a little more conflicted about his mother, I guess. I've never met the woman, so I guess I shouldn't comment."

"Narcissa cares very much about Draco," Hermione said. "She took a very great risk during the war so she could protect him. I don't know how much prison will change her. She was raised in such a strict, cold and uncaring environment, but underneath a hard exterior, I think there is woman who cares very much about family."

"Do you have any witching skills?" Ginny asked Lindsay curiously. "Not that I know of so far," replied the beautiful blond, "other than the apparent ability to bewitch Draco. He tells me that his falling for a 'muggleborn', as he calls me, is something unexpected and totally out of character for him."

"Well, I would say so!" exclaimed Hermione. "The man referred to me as 'Mudblood' for six years because my parents were both muggles."

"So, it is possible for a person born of non-magical parents to become a witch or wizard?" Lindsay asked.

"Yes," Ginny said, "but usually such a person shows some sort of latent magic ability as a child. School is really about learning how to control the talents you are born with. We don't often hear of someone learning to become a witch or wizard, but I suppose if a person had the talent and didn't know they had it, they could be taught to use it. Have you ever caused something to happen around you that you couldn't explain?"

"Oh, all the time," said Lindsay, "but nothing that would ever qualify as magic," she added with a big grin. "I'm a bit of a scatterbrain, and a bit accident prone. You remember, don't you Hermione?"

"Oh yeah! No question!" said Hermione. "Truth be told, I always wondered how someone as smart as you are, Harvard, Stanford, and all, could do some of those dumb things we did when we went partying. But then, I think of all the dumb things I did too, and I guess we're two of a kind. Draco spent a year trying to save my life, you know."

"We're all pretty lucky, all right," said Lindsay, looking around the table at the other couples. "It's all going to work out really well for all of us, isn't it?" she asked hopefully. "We're all the same age, all starting out married life and families. Do you think all our kids will grow up to be friends like us?"

June rushed at them. So much to do, and the time simply seemed to fly. Molly Weasley had been a perfectionist when her other children got married, and she certainly wasn't going to allow the last two to cut any corners. Of course, Harry and Hermione still had their jobs taking up some of their time, so the bulk of the work fell to Ron and Ginny. Harry finally sent Kreacher to the Burrow, and Kreacher got Winky and some of the other Hogwarts house elves to come help as soon as school was out.

One of the jobs was to decide on a cake flavor. Kreacher set out several choices. Some, such as boggle mint, didn't taste very good to humans. One or two, like bellybreath, were simply disgusting. Two of the magical flavors, sauternes and wistlepear, were actually surprisingly good. But in the end, they settled on an orange flavored cake and mocha icing. In a moment of inspiration, Ron suggested decorating it with Every Flavor Jellybeans, but fortunately, cooler heads prevailed.

More than a hundred people had come to Bill and Fluer's wedding, and the guest list for the double ceremony was far more extensive. The Weasleys set up a very large tent over the guest area, and enchanted it to expand as necessary, depending on the crowd and the weather. They also created a spell so that each time a person arrived at a place where there should be a seat, a comfortable chair would materialize.

Kreacher and Winky organized the reception banquet so that it could be handled the same way meals were prepared and served at school. At the appropriate time, they would move the tables and chairs around as needed, and then Arthur Weasley could simply fill the plates with a wave of his wand.

"I just love magic so much!" Harry exclaimed for about the ten-thousandth time since the day he turned eleven and learned he was a wizard.

Finally, it was the 14th, and if someone had told the wedding party that the weather had been specially enchanted just for them, it would have been easy to believe. While there was not a cloud in the deep blue sky, the temperature hovered at a most comfortable level from mid-morning to late evening.

Hermione and Ron had picked up her parents at the airport the day before, and her father had stayed the night with Harry and Ron at Grimmauld Place while her mother and she side-apparated to the Burrow. The girls would get ready there, while the men got dressed in London, and then apparated on later so they wouldn't accidentally see the brides before the wedding. When they arrived, the guests were already in their places, and Neville Longbottom and Oliver Wood, who were standing up for Harry and Ron, were already standing at the front. Mr. Granger went off to find Hermione.

"Well, here we go, mate," said Ron with a smile as guitar music started, and they turned to face the music. At the back, Luna and Cho led their best friends, and Mr. Weasley and Mr. Granger brought their daughters down the aisle. With big smiles, both handed their girls off to stand beside Harry and Ron, and they all turned to face Kingsley Shacklebolt, the Ministry official, who began a musical chant:

_He is now to be among you_

_At the calling of your hearts_

_Rest assured this Troubadour is acting on His part_

"I am here, acting on behalf of the Ministry of Magic, to unite in marriage and magic two of the greatest couples in the recent history of our world.

_Well, the union of your spirits here has caused Him to remain_

_For whenever two or more you are gathered in His name_

_There is love_

_There is love_

"Insomuch as Harry and Ginny love one another, and Ron and Hermione love one another, it is our great pleasure to formalize their unions through ceremonies, chants and spells that are nearly as old as magic itself.

_Well, a man shall leave his mother_

_And a woman leave her home_

_And they shall travel on to where the two shall be as one_

"Who is it that gives these women to their intended husbands?"

"Her mother and I," answered Mr. Weasley and Mr. Granger, almost at the same time.

_As it was in the beginning_

_It is now until the end_

_Woman draws her life from man_

_Then gives it back again_

"Ever since human beings first walked on the Earth, there has been magic," Kingsley continued. "In the earliest times, men and women evolved who could control the forces of life and the physical world with little or no need for machines. And for as long as there have been men and magic, there as has been one important emotion."

_There is love_

_There is love_

"To bring order to society, to sanctify love, to promote the continuation of man as a species, we have formalized the commitment of a man and woman to one another through the sanctity of marriage."

_Well then what's to be the reason_

_For becoming man and wife?_

_Is it love that brings you here_

_Or love that brings you life?_

"Hermione Jean Granger, Ronald Bilius Weasley, what is the reason you have come together? Do you pledge your love to one another? Do you make the lifetime commitment to sacrifice self for each other? If so, please answer, 'I do'." And they did.

"Ginerva Molly Weasley, Harry James Potter, what is the reason you have come together? Do you pledge your love to one another? Do you make the lifetime commitment to sacrifice self for each other? If so, please answer, 'I do'." And they did.

_Oh, if loving is the answer_

_Then who's the Giving Force?_

"Many of us believe in different gods, in different spirits; many others believe it is simply the same life force recognized by many names. What is important, is that you believe in something. We believe that love is the answer, and you have now pledged your love to one another in unbreakable vows."

_Do you believe in something_

_That you've never seen before?_

_There is love_

_There is love_

"As you have pledged your love to one another, and committed yourselves to a lifetime of sacrifice and family before the Giving Force, under the authority of the Ministry of Magic, I now pronounce you gentlemen and your ladies to be husbands and wives. Ron and Harry, you may kiss your brides!"

_Oh, the marriage of your spirits here has caused Him to remain_

_For whenever two or more of you are gathered in His name_

_There is love_

_There is love_

There was wild applause. Music started. Dancing began. Friends and family celebrated long into the night, and this time the reception was not interrupted by anything. Harry held Ginny. Ron held Hermione. And there was love.


	13. Book 1, Chapter 13, Visits That Collide

BOOK1, CHAPTER 13: THE VISITS THAT COLLIDE

_I'm quiet, you know  
You make a first impression  
But I've found I'm scared to know __I'm always on your mind  
Even the best fall down sometime  
Even the stars refuse to shine  
Out of the black you fall in time  
I somehow find  
You and I__  
Collide__you and I _

Don't stop here  
I lost my place  
I'm close behind

Well even the best fall down sometimes  
Even the wrong words seem to rhyme  
Out of the doubt that fills your mind  
You finally find

_collide_

**A/N: I rarely borrow song lyrics for use inside a story. If I want to write about a song, I usually write a songfic,which is about the cheapest form of fanfic there is. However, this Howie Day song is especially important to this chapter and to another upcoming chapter in this book. I also need to give credit to Noel Paul Stookey of the old folk group Peter, Paul and Mary, for "The Wedding Song" which I wove into Chapter 12.**

James Sirius Potter was born on March 14, 2005. Ginny Potter had a relatively easy time for a first baby. Wasting no time, Albus Severus Potter was born on July 31, 2006, his father's birthday. Rose Lindsay Weasley was born on June 14, 2006, on her parents' third wedding anniversary. Harry and Ginny had complained that, just like everything else, Ron and Hermione always had to take their own sweet time about getting to the right place in their lives.

On August 3, 2006, Lindsay Malfoy died giving birth to Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy.

Hermione Weasley flew to Draco's side as soon as she heard. During the eleven months that the three girls had been pregnant, they had shared most of their free time together. Ginny, as the only one with previous experience, had been the coach. Hermione, always practical, made all the supply lists, organized the shopping trips and visits to St. Mungo's, and hired the help. Lindsay, with her Californian sense of style, picked out the cribs, blankets and baby clothes for all three of them. And they had become the closest of friends, much more like three sisters than anything else.

Draco was devastated. Lindsay's medical problem had been undiagnosed, and totally unexpected. No one was prepared, no one knew about the little clot, and when it hit her heart and stopped it cold, there was nothing anyone could do. She had held her son, so blond it almost appeared he had no hair at all, in her arms for just a moment, got a surprised look on her face, and simply stopped living. His world came crashing in around him, and if not for the child, he probably would have given up too.

Hermione took him in her arms. "Draco, I'm so sorry…there's nothing I can say."

He raised his head and looked at her sadly. "I always thought I got everything I wanted," he said. "Instead, it becomes more clear every day that I only get what I deserve. Please don't pity me. I was bred to this. I was taught to be this way. I can't even cry for Lindsay. Too numb. It's too weak, and I can't be weak.

"The truth is I never get what I want. I wanted parents who cared about me, and got parents who only cared about power, and how much more I could get for them. I wanted you, and all I ever did was everything that could possibly be wrong, everything to drive you away and make it impossible for us to be.

"Do you know that it's easier for me to cry over you than it is for my to cry over my wife's dead body?" he said, pushing her away, and turning away from her. Now I've lost everything again. Everything!"

She came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "It's not true, you know. You haven't lost everything at all. You have changed so much. You are a good person now. You have friends, friends who care very much about you. And now you have a son, and he can be a good person too. All us will help you. That's what friends are for."

Ron, Harry and Ginny arrived a few moments later. Always a bit insensitive, Ron failed to notice the silent sad communication that continued between his wife and Malfoy. Ginny and Harry threw themselves into trying to comfort their friend, and into handling some of the arrangements that now had to be made. First, there was the matter of the baby. They decided that it would be best to take Scorpio to the Burrow and ask Molly Weasley to look after him until after the funeral.

As soon as Draco could think clearly again, the first thing he had to do was use the muggle phone to call Lindsay's parents. As was expected, they were totally torn up, and they begged him to bring her home for burial. Reluctantly, he agreed. "I'm probably just thinking of myself, as usual," he said to Hermione. "It's not just that I think she should be in the family cemetery at the Manor. The worst part is that taking her home is going to make this horrible feeling last so much longer, and I just want it behind me."

"Nobody knows more than I do," said Harry. "I felt so responsible for so many deaths for so long. But eventually you realize that we have no control over things like this. The good happens to us. The bad happens to us. We have very little control over either one, and without the bad, I don't think the good would be as meaningful."

"I'll go with you when you take her to America," Hermione said impulsively. "Hey, I can't get away like that right now," Ron said. "You don't have to go, Ronald. I know you can't skip out on training. You can help Molly and Ginny with the children, and I'll be safe with Draco."

The flight to San Francisco was long and sad. Draco felt his insides were tied up in knots of dread. He had no idea how he would get through the funeral. For that matter, he had no idea how he would be able to just leave his wife behind. At the last minute, they had decided to bring Scorpio with them. Hermione felt she could manage this since Molly was taking care of Rose. They slept on each other's shoulders, and smiled sadly at the solicitous strangers who told them was a lovely little family they made.

Lindsay's parents were a mess. They felt guilty that they hadn't been there for the birth, feeling that perhaps they could have prevented the tragedy. It was hard for them to deal with the baby. He was their first grandchild, and this might be their only chance to see him. There was also a natural and irrational tendency to blame him, if only just a little. Lindsay had been beautiful. She had been brilliant. She had been adventurous, a true risk-taker. And now she was gone. Hermione held Draco's hand softly and gently throughout the funeral and the reception, and both of them were relieved when they could get away from the sadness, and start the journey back home.

"Scorpius is a great little traveler," Hermione exclaimed. "He sleeps most of the time, hardly ever wants anything, and doesn't cry at all."

"I think it's your touch," Draco said. He was still holding her hand, and he turned to look at her softly. "You know, I don't know which is worse. Sitting here all knotted up inside because Lindsay is gone, and I'll never see her again. Or, sitting here all knotted up because I'm holding your hand, and you're feeding my baby, and I know that when we get home, it will be back to the same old thing between us. I want you more than the guy you're married to, but you want him more than I want you."

"It really is an odd relationship we have, isn't it?" she said wistfully. "And don't think for a minute that you're the only one torn up about it. There are times when you come to visit when I can't wait until you're gone, because you confuse me so. And then, when you are gone, I can't wait to see you again because I enjoy your company so much. You know, talking to Ronald is sometimes like talking to a teaspoon. You and I relate much better on an intellectual level. And you're wrong: I love both of you, and I want both of you. It's just that I have to choose one because the world won't let me have both of you, and he is the less dangerous choice. Isn't that a terrible way to decide?"

She looked out the window of the airplane for a long time. She shifted Scorpius from one arm to the other. "Do you want me to take him for awhile?" Draco asked.

"No, it's OK," Hermione said. "You know, you're not the only one all knotted up inside. I'm constantly torn. Even when I wasn't speaking to you, after we got home from school, I still wanted to be with you. I missed you so much. That's why I've been able to forgive you, even though I think what you did was horrible.

"Draco, I haven't told anyone we're on our way home. Nobody knows what time this plane gets in. Let's get a nice hotel room, have room service brought up, and just spend a day lying around and resting. I don't think I want to face the world right now, and I want to stay with you again. Will you sleep with me, no sex, just let me hold you and you hold me, and make each other feel better if we can?" she said.

"You know you only have to ask," he said.

Hermione and Draco reconnected sweetly and innocently over the next restful day, then made their way back to the Burrow. While they had been traveling, Molly Weasley had lined up several potential housekeepers and new house elves for Draco to interview, and after another week as a guest of the Weasleys, he was ready to take Scorpio home to Malfoy Manor. Over the next several months, Draco gradually recovered from the death of his wife, and began to move more normally and publicly in social circles.

Hermione frequently visited Malfoy Manor to check in on her friend and the baby boy. Draco also visited Ron and Hermione quite often, sometimes staying very late as he and Hermione discussed work, philosophy and the physical sciences. Ron could sometimes be drawn into a discussion if it was about Quidditch or the kids, but he was neither a particularly gracious host nor eager conversationalist.

In June of 2007, about ten months after Draco lost his wife, Ron was called out of the country on Auror work with Harry. Hermione took advantage of his absence to floo over to Malfoy Manor and spend some time with her friend and his son. Since their children could be looked after by house elves and the nanny, she brought Rosie with her. Both children were just old enough to share a playpen, and they got on well together. Draco had actually set aside a room at the Manor for his occasional Gryffindor guests, a chamber decorated in deep burgundy and old gold. Hermione put her things in that room on Friday night, and prepared to spend a couple restful days in the country.

Dinner was always a relatively formal affair at the Manor. Hermione showered, and found that there was a new, strapless, deep red dress in her closet, something she had certainly not brought with her. She touched on a bit of perfume, tried the dress on once, and was a little amused and shocked to find it looked a whole lot better if she wore no underwear. "He is a dreadful tease," she thought to herself.

Her Pear Martini was sweet and luscious. Dinner was very good. So was the bottle of 1998 Laffite, and the after dinner brandy, and the Kahlua and Cream she took in the library. Pretty soon, Hermione and Draco were sitting on the couch by the fire, where they often settled to talk to one another. Talking with Draco was one of her favorite things now that her life was so much more settled. In some ways, Hermione missed adventure. Living dangerously was much more stimulating than being married to a redheaded Auror, raising a daughter.

Another drink, and she found she was sitting much closer to Draco as they discussed the politics of wizard-muggle relations. She kicked off her shoes, and tucked her feet up under her bare legs. Eventually, talk turned to silly things, and they found themselves very close to one another, laughing and gently touching one another. Draco began to twirl a loose strand of her hair, and suddenly, they leaned in towards one another, and their lips met in a soft, warm kiss.

They pulled away slowly, reluctantly. Their eyes popped open, and locked. And then he was crushing her lips with his, hungrily searching for something like a starving man. His tongue touched her lips and begged for passage. She opened her mouth at this request, and their tongues dueled wet and hot. As her hand tangled in his hair, his reached behind and found the zipper on the red dress. He pulled it down partway, and his hand slid down the front, revealing her breasts. He began to kiss along the edge of her jaw, and found sensitive areas on her neck that had her moaning with pleasure.

"It's been a very long time since I've been with anyone," he said as he began to palm her nipples. "I always want you; now I need you."

"I know," she answered. "Just love me."

"You know I do," he said, and they leaned into another, deeper kiss. She slid his jacket off his shoulders and unbuttoned his shirt. He broke the kiss only long enough to take it off, and to slid the top of the dress down to her hips. Now they joined their naked skin against each other as their mouths sought more and more. Both of them were now breathing hard, their faces flushed, and their eyes full of need for one another.

Standing, he pulled her to her feet. He quickly walked over to the library door and locked it. He flicked his wand at the sofa, and it converted into a bed. He slipped the dress over her hips and let it drop to the floor around her bare feet. As she tried to pull him towards the couch, he undid his belt and let his pants and boxers fall.

"Are you going to give me another massage?" she asked playfully. Her glance fell to his groin. "Oh, I don't think there's time for that," she exclaimed.

"Maybe not, but there's time for this," he said, kneeling above her and beginning to kiss his way down her body. She was moaning and lifting her hips off the bed, but he took his time, kissing her navel and continuing lower and lower as she parted her legs for him. When his tongue found her, it brought a long low growl, and when he began to lick her, she started pushing against it, making him enter. "Don't stop. Don't stop. Now. Now!" she cried as she climaxed.

"My turn," he said, rolling over. Her eyes grew big. "I've never done that," she said. "Never, with all those guys you've been with?" he asked unbelieving. "I never cared for any of them, except maybe Ron. It was just sex," she lied so easily.

She slid down his body and took him inside her hot, wet mouth, swirling her tongue around him. "Uhh, slow down!" he groaned. "Damn. Too late!" As she pulled away, he lost control. She smiled up at him. "I bet in the long run, I'm going to be really really glad that happened!" She took her wand and cleaned up the evidence.

After a few minutes to regain his composure, he was ready again. He slipped inside her gently, and for the next 20 minutes or so, they loved one another in the most intimate way possible. He sent her soaring over the top several times before she felt him harden even more inside her, and gasping, thrusting into her, he reached another climax.

For a long time, they lay there connected. "I told you once before that it is too bad you are so good," she said. "It's we that are good, together," he said, stroking her hair back out of her eyes. "Are you tired?" he asked. "Exhausted," she replied. "I'm spent," Draco said. "There's a back way up to your room." Hand in hand, they climbed the back staircase, and they tumbled into her bed, already nearly asleep.

The next morning, they awoke tangled in one another's limbs, and made love again. And again on Saturday night. And they dined on one another again for Sunday brunch. "I don't know which is harder," Draco said. "Taking my wife to her grave, or letting you go back to him tonight. I'm not sure which of you I have loved more, but I know which of you I have loved longer."

Over the next two months, Draco was a guest in the Weasley home several times, and he began to feel he could drop in when he wanted. While superficially, it seemed that they all got along, there was an underlying tension. In August, about a week after the first anniversary of Lindsay Malfoy's death, Ron Weasley asked Malfoy to step outside, and walk with him in the garden.

"Draco, there's a problem," Ron said. "I know you and Hermione are great friends, and you have taken a lot of comfort in that friendship. I'm glad she was able to do that for you. But you should know that she's pregnant again, and we're going to have another baby next year. She says she's started to be uncomfortable having you around so much. So I'm going to have to ask you to stop just dropping in, OK? If we invite you, it's one thing, but your hanging around is starting to affect our relationship, and I can't let that happen right now."

Malfoy was stunned. "Well, congratulations, mate! When's it due," he spat out, trying to buy a little time to think and react. "Looks like late February or early March," Ron said. Draco did some mental gymnastics. It didn't take a genius to figure out what part of the problem was potentially, and Draco was a genius.

"Uh, sure Ron. You know I only want whatever is best for you guys. I really appreciate your support over the past year. I wouldn't have made it without you. I think staying away won't be a problem. I'm about due for another overseas posting anyway; probably would have had it by now if my wife hadn't died," he lied.

"Listen, would you say goodbye to Hermione for me tonight, and congratulate her for me. I'm a little late for another appointment, and I don't have time to go back inside," he said, turning quickly because he didn't want Weasley to see that his eyes were wet. Walking out of the garden, he disapparated back to the Manor.

Two days later, she came to see him. "I thought I made you uncomfortable," he said. "Where did you ever get that idea?" she asked curiously. "That's what your husband told me when he told me to stay away from you," Draco said.

"The stupid git. He's too jealous for his own good. Did he tell you that I'm pregnant, too?" Hermione said. "You bet. And I can do simple math, as well."

"Draco, I don't know. I was with Ron the next two days after that weekend. It could be either one of you. I haven't used a contraceptive charm since I've been married."

"Sweetheart, it doesn't matter. You're married to him, so it's his. I am not going the other way; there's no future in it."

"But I love you too," she said, looking at him with regret. She had never let him really know how she felt. It crossed her mind that the only way to save the relationship was to come clean. "It's just different when I'm with you. He's safe. You're not. He's like me. You and I are opposites. But when you and I make love, there's passion in the act. Ron tries, but it's like everything else he does…awkward. I never feel like he cherishes me the way I feel treasured by you."

"Do you believe me when I say that I don't want you go away. I want both of you in my life."

"Oh yeah. I believe it all right. I know you could have chosen me, too, and yet you didn't. But it doesn't matter. It's too complicated now. We never can really be together, never have been able to. All we can ever do is run into each other once in awhile, and once in awhile, our lives seem to collide. As much as I love you, that's the best we can do."

"I really think you need to go. Go back to your safe place with him. Go back to your children. I'm not meant to have you, and I only want you to be insanely happy. Go back to him and be content. Forget about me, forget about the whole Malfoy family. I appreciate everything you've done for us. You've made me a different man, and that's worth something. But go. I can't stand it any more," Draco said, and his voice grew colder and louder with each word.

"You know what? I can't do this anymore. Just get out!" he finally shouted at her, and he turned his back on her as she sadly walked away.

Late in 2007, Draco Malfoy had sent a notice to most of the people in the magical world announcing his engagement to Astoria Greengrass. She came from one of the top pureblood families, was two years younger than Draco, and a former Slytherin.

They married quickly, and as expected, Draco was posted almost immediately to India by the Department of International Relations.

Hugo Weasley was born on February 14, 2008, Valentine's Day. When Hugo was born, many people commented on how much lighter his hair was than Rose's. Of course, when you have a redhead father and a mother with honey brown hair, it's hard to know exactly what the cross will produce. Hugo's hair was curly bushy like his mother's had been when she was a child, but almost tended towards blond. Hermione took his picture and sent it to the Malfoys in India. When Draco got it, he swore under his breath, did not show it to Astoria, and put it away where she would never be able to find it.

He also swore that there would come a day when Ronald Weasley would regret he had ever been born!


	14. Book 1, Chapter 14, Cursed Road Trips

**_A/N: Hey guys! A ton of you have been reading, but not many reviews for over 1500 hits and 13 posted chapters. The price of reading fanfics, written and posted for free, is that you are supposed to tell the writers what you think. And it's so easy. All you have to do is click the little link and type some words. Anyone can do it...SO DO IT!_**

BOOK 1, CHAPTER 14: CURSED ROAD TRIPS

It was Wednesday, August 18, 2010. The manager of the Bulgarian National Quidditch Team finally called an end to night practice at 11:14 PM. The World Cup Stadium in north England was nearly deserted. Only a few hundred hard-core fans had stayed around to watch the team repeatedly run the same formation drills over and over again until Viktor Krum was satisfied with his team's synchronization.

A few of the fans straggled for the exits, and a couple dozen headed for the locker room door in hopes of securing any autographs they were still missing. The equipment manager was still struggling to get one of the bludgers secured in the ball trunk. The grounds manager quickly clicked his light catcher at most of the brilliant floodlights, and as they were extinguished, shadows grew and lengthened in the massive structure.

No one noticed the darkly hooded figure making its way through the shadows. Seeking darkness, the masked hominoid scuttled through the lowest levels behind one set of goal rings like a black panther stalking its prey on silent paws. It wore black gloves, black boots that disappeared up under its robes, and dark glasses. If anyone had seen the figure, they would not have been able to tell if it was male or female, what color was its hair or eyes, nor any other feature that would be useful for identification.

Reaching the area outside the Bulgarian Clubhouse, it shrank into the darkness and disappeared, waiting.

After Krum finished a brief team meeting, many of the finest Quidditch players in the world left the locker room and headed for the parking lot. They were joking with one another about making dinner arrangements, or meeting an English bird in a local pub, or taking the wife or girlfriend clubbing. Always the last to leave, Krum went to his office and finished up his practice review notes, and wrote his training plan for the next day. Finally satisfied that his team was on schedule for its weekend Cup semi-final night match, Krum snuffed the lights with his wand, and headed for his Jaguar hired car.

As he climbed behind the wheel, the left door was virtually blown open by a particularly strong Alohomora charm. Before Krum could react, a wand was pressed against his neck. "Drive!" a high, cold voice commanded. "Start it, get out of the parking lot and turn left. Do nothing stupid. I am prepared to disapparate your head and leave the rest of you behind in the car!"

Turning left put the car on the A64 motorway, heading away from the Stadium grounds that appeared to be nothing but a pasture for grazing sheep to passing muggles. They were going north, clearly headed into moor country north of York. "Turn off at the next exit," the masked figure ordered after several minutes. Then, with a series of instructions, Krum was ordered to drive well off most of the explored roads and into a wooded area. "Slow down. There's an old logging trail on the right…turn into it, go as far forward as you can, and stop. Turn off the lights now!"

"Give me your wand." The intruder still had his pointed murderously at Krum's neck. Slowly, Krum slipped his out of his robes and handed it over.

"Vat ist this about?" he asked. Viktor Krum was a world class athlete, but not particularly brave or brainy. A wizard trained at the Durmstrang Institute, he knew how to intimidate with forms of storm and stress, but was not particularly adept at being on the receiving end. The dark figure seemed to know this. "I haf money…galleons and muggle…take zee car too."

"No, this is not about treasure. Do you remember a pretty witch named Hermione Granger? Your Yule Ball date at Hogwarts? The girl who thought she was in love with you until you nearly ruined her life? Think back. This is about her!

"Now, get slowly out of car, facing inside, and put your hands up on the roof. That's it. Move your feet back; lean forward more; there you go…"

"Stupefy!" Krum was blasted backwards from the car, and immobilized on the ground. The dark figure climbed out of the passenger seat, walked around the car, and pointed its wand at Krum again. "Petrificus Totalus." "Incarcerous" Once Krum was unable to move, and bound with ropes, the stranger levitated him, moved him to a large tree, and hung him upside down from a thick, low limb.

"Crucio!" it screamed at the helpless ex-Quidditch star. Like a butterfly cocoon about to split open and reveal the new life inside, Krum writhed within his bindings, and screamed for no one to hear. "Ahh, like music," said the cold voice wrapped in black. "Crucio!" it screamed at him again. And again, until Krum was too weak to scream any longer. "Sectumsempra!" it said, as it ran its wand down Krum's leg, splitting the cloth of his pants, and the flesh beneath. Now he could scream again.

"Rape is the most awful thing you can do to a woman. How many others, Krum, how many others did you get drunk or drug, and use? How many killed themselves? How many could never have a normal relationship with a true lover? Did you tell yourself you were so good that they loved letting you beat them and force yourself inside them? I bet you think I'm a monster, but you're the only monster here tonight. Sectumsempra!" it said again, this time cutting open the other leg, and not stopping until it had also cut away Krum's reproductive organs.

"Bad luck tonight, Krum. Looks like the only victim around is you." The attacker stood stoically by, watching as Krum was bleeding out. The person in black saw Krum's eyes start to glass over. "Not yet, Victor…not that easy…Avada Kedavra!" and the stream of green light struck him over his heart."

The black figure watched a moment more, then spun and apparated away.

Harry Potter got the call Thursday morning at eleven. "Ron, Dirk, we've got a really bad one!" he shouted as he gathered up two of his fellow Aurors. Dirk Truncheon had been Harry's field trainer, and Ron Weasley had become his partner after he had retired from his professional Quidditch career. It was only natural as the two were best friends going back to a train trip at age eleven.

"What's going on, Harry?" asked Dirk.

"You'll appreciate this one, Ron," Harry replied. "It's our old friend Viktor Krum. He's been murdered!"

"What! Krum? Murdered? Who? How? Where?" Ron was never one for long sentences when one word would do.

"He didn't show up for training at ten this morning," Harry said. "You know the Bulgarian team is in England for the Cup semis this weekend. He's the manager. Anyway, didn't show up, so Shacklebolt and Corner put a team on looking for him at the request of the Bulgarians. Turns out he had hired a muggle car. These days the rental car companies all put these muggle tracing units that work with their Global Positioning Satellites in all their equipment so they can find the cars quickly when someone dumps one instead of returning it.

"This one turned up in the moors north of York. A bunch of the Games & Sports guys apparated up there with Corner, and tossed their breakfasts over what they found. Corner said Krum was hanging upside down from a tree by his feet, and had pretty well been ripped open top to bottom. Birds had already been at his eyes a bit, too. Don't know for sure how long he's been hanging there.

"We need to get going. Michael's waiting for us at a road intersection we can use as an apparition point."

"Speaking of one of my favorite gits, how is Michael Corner these days?" Ron asked, as the three of them made there way to the Ministry apparition room.

"OK, I guess," Harry said. "Ginny and I don't hear as much from him as we used to since he got promoted to the top spot in Sports & Games. Pretty busy with the World Cup, I imagine. Here's the coordinator for this trip. Concentrate, Ron! Hermione will kick my ass if I let you splinch yourself again." With three loud pops, the Aurors headed out, and with three more pops, appeared in front of the Minister of Sports & Games.

"Morning, Michael," said Dirk Truncheon, taking charge as the senior Auror.

"Not exactly how I wanted to start my day!" Corner replied.

"Where is it?"

"Up the logging road a ways," Corner said. "Better get your minds around the idea first. It's not a pretty sight."

"We've all seen death before, Michael," Harry said. The group walked up the road together, passing by the hired car.

"Passenger door was forced open," Truncheon pointed out to Ron. "See the spell marks there near the handle? Almost ripped it through the latch…they were in a hurry."

"Must have surprised him in the Stadium parking lot after practice," Ron said.

"Yeah, there or right at the exit when he would have had to stop for traffic," Harry said.

"Oh, I don't know," Dirk said. "Just because the Stadium was the last place anyone says they saw him doesn't mean he didn't get home, or even to a pub parking lot. Don't assume anything yet," the senior Auror added.

"Ooff! That must have stung!" Ron exclaimed as his eyes finally found the body hanging upside down from the branch of a tree. Look at his face. The man was in total agony just before the killing curse hit him."

"Really cut him open before killing him," Harry added. By now they had walked up to the place where the Minister of Magic and a couple of healers were waiting for them to arrive.

"We didn't want to disturb anything until you Aurors had a chance to examine him and look for evidence," Kingsley said.

"Who found him?" Dirk asked.

"Guy from the hired car agency was first on the scene, of course," the Minister said. "We asked them to look for the car as soon as the Bulgarians ran up the distress flag. He's over there with that healer. Pretty shook up. Who wouldn't be?

"Anyway, soon as he could, he reported back to us, and the Bulgarian Minister and I apparated here right away. I'm pretty sure, other than the car guy, we were the first ones here, and we didn't touch anything. Michael came right along behind us, and I sent him right back out to the road for you lot." They walked closer to the scene.

"Not much blood on the ground," Harry remarked.

"Looks like most of it soaked into his clothes, and he was Avadaed before he bled out completely," Dirk said.

"Some of him is missing!" Ron exclaimed.

"Oh yeah. Castrated and then some," Dirk noted. "Somebody was particularly unhappy with Mr. Krum, weren't they?"

"Well, Harry and I can tell you from personal experience he was a foul git in his own right. Might as well tell you lot right now that I had a motive to kill the bastard. When we were kids, he raped my wife!" Ron said. "But I didn't kill him, and the fact is I was home with the kids last night."

"Hey, mate, not a problem!" Harry exclaimed. "I wasn't a big fan either, especially after he broke Ginny's arm in that match in '07. She wasn't really even over having Al then, and he took full advantage. But we were all home with family last night, and I don't think there's any reason to look close at us. Besides, the prat probably had a lot of enemies. I'll bet Hermione wasn't the only girl he used like that over his career!"

"Yeah, it's just coincidence. It probably won't have anything to do with Hermione," Kingsley said.

"Tell the healers they can take him down now," Dirk said, taking charge again. "Ron, Harry, we need to walk the grid, although I don't think we'll find anything useful. This was no spur of the moment attack. It was well planned out. Look at the footprints. You can see Krum's trainers clearly, but there's nothing about the other person's prints. No pattern on the soles, no marks, average size…a thousand people wear shoes that size, and there's no way to identify the brand or style."

"I need to call Ginny," Harry said when they were done. "The media are going to be all over this, and she's the lead reporter for "Quidditch Weekly". I can't let her get scooped by the tabloids. In fact, I'm going to give Luna and the "Quibbler" a heads up too. The "Prophet" can find out on its own."

"Now, don't be bitter," Kingsley said, only half joking. Everyone in the Ministry knew Harry and his family had been treated less than fairly over the years by the "Daily Prophet".

"I keep hoping that green beetle Skeeter will show up at a crime scene some day, so I can step on her and pretend I didn't know it was her," Harry said with a laugh.

"Harry! Never knew you had a homicidal side!" Truncheon exclaimed.

"Only for those who 'bug' me and my friends, pardon the pun."

When they got back to the Ministry Building, Kingsley called a meeting in his office right away. Dirk, Harry and Ron were formally assigned to the case. Michael Corner was given the job of co-coordinating with the Bulgarian National Team. Percy Weasley, the First Assistant to the Minister, was assigned to handle media and public relations issues. "I've recalled Draco Malfoy from India," the Minister said. "He's been there the past three years, but I had him in Bulgaria for several months when we started the planning for this Cup. He'll work with you Aurors on the international aspects of this investigation.

"Let me make it clear," Kingsley said. "This is an international incident of the highest priority. It's not likely England will be hosting another World Cup if we can't offer protection to the teams and their staffs. This is unacceptable, and at the very least we need to find out why if not who. I know you don't have much to work with, but please, do your best!"

When they got back to the Auror offices, the three started discussing how to proceed on the investigation. They had barely started the meeting when there was knock on the door. "Mind if I join you? Guess I'm supposed to be part of your team," said the blond man in the hallway.

"Draco…how've you been man?" said Harry warmly, jumping to his feet and grasping the man's hand.

"Long time, no see, Malfoy," said Ron, nodding at the new arrival.

"Good to see you again, Harry! How's Ginny? I came as soon as Kingsley owled me. Weasley?" he added, nodding in Ron's direction. "I came straight here. Haven't even checked into a hotel or let Mother know I'm in England.

"So, it's Krum is it. I bet there won't be a lot of tears shed at your house over that rapist, Ron. Does Hermione know yet?"

"No. I don't know what's better; letting her find out from the papers or me flooing over to tell her. Haven't had a chance to get in touch with her as we were at the crime scene this morning, and in meetings with Kingsley until just now," Ron said coolly, wondering as usual why Malfoy always had to think about Hermione and her feelings before anyone else.

"Yeah, I think we had better let Ron go and tell Hermione," Harry said. "This is going to bring back a lot of bad memories for her no matter how she feels about Krum. For one thing, she tends to be too forgiving. She always blames herself. She never had much problem with him being at Bill and Fluer's wedding, nor watching him at your matches, or Ginny's. She might react pretty badly to this news."

"You're right. Dirk, is it OK if I floo home to her? I'll try to get back as soon as I can get her settled," Ron said.

Ron quickly went down to the Atrium and flooed to his home near the Burrow. "Honey, are you still here?" he called out to Hermione.

"Here, Ron," she said from the kitchen, where she was cleaning up from feeding lunch to Rose and Hugo. The toddlers were playing in the family room with Albus and Lily Potter. "You haven't heard any news today, have you?" he asked.

"Not yet. Too busy. What's up?"

"Harry and I caught a bad case this morning, and it's going to effect you…us…I'm afraid. Viktor Krum was murdered last night."

She gasped, and sat down hard on a kitchen chair. "Krum! Dead." There was a very long pause as she decided how she felt about the news. "Couldn't happen to a nicer git, I guess," she said finally. "I suppose he assaulted one girl too many, and someone was less forgiving than I've had to be."

"We really don't have a clue about who, or why," Ron said. "But they took their time about it, Crucioed him and cut him up pretty bad. It does look likely there's a sexual motive of some kind. They took his genitals."

"Oh my god…Merlin's beard…that's just awful! I don't care how much I hated the prat, nobody deserves that kind of treatment."

"Honey. You know we're going to be drawn into this, at least for a little while, don't you? I had to tell them about you and Krum. Harry and Draco are both assigned on the investigation team, and they already knew. There was no way to avoid telling Dirk and Kingsley. I don't think they'll let it go any further, but we're going to have to answer questions," Ron said.

"Draco?" How's that? He's in India is he not?"

"Hermione, where were you last night?" He couldn't avoid asking any longer. He had said he was home with the kids. He had not said he was with his wife. And she did not know if he had gone out, or not.

"At the Ministry," said replied right away. "One of my time experiments was due to complete last night, and I had to be there for it."

"And some of the staff will have seen you?"

"Of course, Ronald! Why are you treating me like a potential suspect? You know better! Of course, I know, you need to ask these questions," she said, starting to calm down a little. "I guess I shouldn't just assume your trust."

"I trust you completely, Hermione. But you're going to be asked these questions by other people. You might as well get your story together. I haven't told them you weren't home, and that I don't have anyone to provide me with an alibi either."

"Oh! My! That is going to be a problem too, isn't it? We can't simply vouch for one another. Hadn't thought of that. Ron? You didn't do it, did you?"

"Leave the babies here alone? What are you thinking? Of course not!"

"Well, you have to admit, you had just as much reason as I did," she said. "Ron, I'm going to have to go out again tonight, too. The follow-up experiment is running right now. I'm going to have to be there!"

"OK, we had better take the kids to Mum, then. I know I'm going to have to go right back into the office. They only let me come and tell you so you wouldn't have to find out on the news. Let me floo over and make sure that's OK with her, then I'll come back for them. What about Lily and Al…are they supposed to stay with us, or should they go back to Ginny?"

"She's out shopping. I'll leave her a note and tell her all the kids are at the Burrow. It will be OK."

"Be right back," he said.

A few moments later, he reappeared. "It's OK with Mum. Can you take all the kids over by yourself, or do you need help?"

"Ronald, I take them all over every other day by myself. I think I can handle it. Get on back to work. The sooner you find out who really killed Viktor, the sooner we don't have to worry about what people think about us."

"Where's Draco, mate?" Ron asked as soon as he got back to the office.

"Dirk sent him off to sort out his hotel arrangements and send an owl to Astoria," Harry said. "You and I are supposed to start researching people that Krum had a connection with in England, with a special emphasis on girls he may have met on road trips here. When Draco gets back, we're going to put him to work on the same thing with the Bulgarians."

But in fact, Draco Malfoy was not sorting out his hotel. He didn't need to since he had been in London for three days. And Hermione Weasley was not working at the Ministry of Magic. In fact, she was sitting across the table from Draco in a small, private pub in Liverpool, far from prying eyes.

"This is not going to be good," Draco was saying. "Our timing couldn't have been worse. I don't know what Astoria is going to say if it ever becomes a question whether or not I was really in India last night. And it's certainly going to become an issue when they start asking people in your department what you were doing last night, and none of them will say you were at work."

"I'm sorry, Draco, it was just the first thing that came to mind."

"I know; I know. Well, it's done now. It's just going to be damn embarrassing if we end up having to be alibis for one another. Not to mention what we were discussing! I don't think either your husband or my wife will be amused to find we have been talking about Hugo's parentage."


	15. Book 1, Chapter 15, Investigations

**_A/N: Humm. 15 chapters posted. Another 7 written and waiting to go up. Thousands of hits. At least 100 of you who appear to have read all the way through. And yet...so few reviews! I've done my part. Shouldn't you readers do yours? If you've read this far, I would appreciate it if you would take a moment to go back and read the recently posted author's notes to Chapter 1._**

BOOK 1, CHAPTER 15: INVESTIGATIONS

"So, let's recap," Draco Malfoy said to Hermione Weasley. They were sitting in a quiet muggle pub in Liverpool, where they hoped no one from the wizarding world would see and recognize them. "Last night, we met outside my hotel in London, and apparated here together to make sure we had some privacy. We discussed Hugo Weasley, and the possibility that I might be his father instead of Ron Weasley. We couldn't have had anything to do with killing Viktor Krum as were together during most of the key time period."

"This is going to be so embarrassing," Hermione said. "Do you think we are going to have to bring the question of my son into this?"

"Well, I think we are going to try to avoid that, aren't we? Both for the sake of your marriage and mine. Tory knows nothing about my suspicions. I have never shown her the photo you sent…in fact, I have it hidden well away. And I presume Ron…"

"Ron is oblivious as always. As I said last night, the problem is that as Hugo gets older, it seems more and more likely that our weekend together was a mistake in more ways than one. Every day, his eyes and hair are more like yours. He's never going to go completely platinum, of course, given my coloring. And his eyes can be put off to Ron's blue. But I don't think he's going to show either of the Weasley builds. Draco, when he's at school, he's going to look a lot like you!"

"As I told you last night, if Hugo is mine, I want to be part of his life," Draco said. "When I told you to get out, I was angry. I was disappointed that you chose him over me even if I understand it. I was even more disappointed when I thought that Lindsay's passing had given us a second chance. I was stupid enough to think that Weasley was actually speaking for you when he told me to leave you alone. I should never have told you to pretend he was Weasley's son!

"And now Tory is pregnant. Scorpius is going to have a half-sister to go with his half-brother that he doesn't even know about. I have certainly screwed up my family life in more than one way!"

"You shocked the hell out of me last night when you said you wanted to be in Hugo's life," Hermione said. "I'm really scared about that. I don't know what how Ron will take something like that, or what he might do about it. Ron and I have always had that easy, comfortable relationship. We grew up together, after all. But he has a temper, and Merlin knows I'm no pushover; we still fight more like archenemies than friends and lovers. If our relationship weren't so strong, it would not survive for most people.

"I don't know if it can survive news like this, though. This is going to be seen as an ultimate betrayal, and he doesn't take well to sharing. Or to the idea that you would be much more significant in our lives again. It's not just that he didn't like you in school, and never really forgave you like Harry and I did; it's also that after we came back from the U.S., he began to see you for the rival you really were. That's why he didn't want you around…he was afraid you would get me to change my mind.

"When he finds out I really did cheat on him, all his fears are gong to be confirmed. It would just be so much better for both of us if this didn't have to come out," she said, as tears started to flow down her cheeks.

Draco reached across the table to brush them away. He looked around the darkened pub. It was old and comfortable. He signaled the barman for another two pints. The silence grew long and uncomfortable as they sipped their ale and contemplated their fates. "For the two smartest people who ever attended Hogwarts, we've certainly made some of the dumbest mistakes," he finally said. She laughed, smiled, and nodded in agreement.

"There's not going to be any choice, is there?" she said.

"No. I don't think so. Almost as soon as Dirk and Harry start nosing around for ideas, they're going to find out I was in England three days ago. As soon as that happens, I become a suspect because Harry knows how I feel about you, and he'll wonder why I lied to the Ministry. But I can try to find some way to keep you out of…"

"No! You will not place yourself in jeopardy just to keep me from having a difficult time with my husband!" Hermione practically was shouting at him. Heads turned in the pub. She noticed, and quieted her voice. "The only way this is ever going to work is if we are honest with them. Lies have only led to more lies. I am not going to keep making mistakes. I'm going to tell Ron the truth, or at least a version of the truth that I hope I can make a little bit acceptable. If he still loves me, he'll forgive me, and I may even be able to get him to accept you…at least enough for Hugo's sake."

"How do you want to proceed?" Draco asked.

"OK. First we go back to London. I'll go home and see Ron and tell him the basics. Then, tomorrow, we go and see Harry, Dirk and Ron together at the Ministry, and own up to our being here last night. I suggest we have a talk with the barman, and make sure he remembers us from both last night and tonight. Are you going to tell Tory?"

"Yes, obviously. But unlike your case, it doesn't have to be right away. I can wait until the investigation is further along. That way I can give her a more complete story of how it happened, and why I waited to tell her. Keep in mind, until last night, I wasn't actually sure that Hugo is mine."

"Draco…what…what are we going to do…about that part?" she asked hesitatingly.

"I don't know yet," he answered honestly. "But rest assured I am not interested in tearing apart your family. I would never challenge you for custody. I have no intention of breaking up with Astoria, or expectations that you would leave Weasley. We will just have to play that by ear once we make sure we are in the clear on Krum."

Rising, Draco went over to pay the bar tab and talk a bit to the barman and a couple of the waitresses. "They remember us from last night; no problem." He told Hermione. "I'm going to take a muggle train back to London. I need the time to think about all of this. What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to apparate first to the Burrow. The kids are there, and I need to talk to Molly Weasley before I talk to Ron. She's not going to be anymore sympathetic, but once she gets over the shock, she will help me figure out how to talk to him." With that, they kissed each other lightly, held each other for a moment longer than just friends, and went their separate ways once again.

Meanwhile, Harry, Ron and Dirk were beginning to make a little progress. Each of them had contacts in the darker side of the magical world. Harry in particular, because of his notoriety, commanded a certain amount of respectful fear from those who dabble in dark magic. Dark wizards believed that if Harry had enough power to defeat Tom Riddle, he certainly had more than enough to handle lesser warlocks.

Harry began his inquiries in Knockturn Alley. When he had been twelve, no place had frightened him more. Now, he had a commanding presence and the denizens had little choice but to respect him. As he began to ask around, he began to hear mutterings about a strange man who had come looking to hire an assassin. Finally, he found an old hag hiding around the corner from Borgin & Burkes.

"Hear you're looking for somthin' special, deary." She croaked toothlessly. She had a long hooked nose, a huge black mole on her forehead above her left eye, and a black patch over her right eye. "You took that eye from me, ya know deary…at Hogwarts that day…hit me with a spell you did. But I deserved it…picked the wrong side, I did!"

"Yeah, you did," Harry said. "Now, tell me what you know!" he commanded, and began to probe her mind to make sure she told the truth.

"You want to find Boris Dolohov. You know who he is, deary?"

"Yeah. Grandson of Antonin, right?"

"That's the man. Professional assassin, he is. Heard he got a big commission, then couldn't get out of England fast enough. Supposedly made a big deposit in Gringotts 'for he ran though. You can find out about that?"

"Maybe. Who hired him?"

"That's a bigger mystery, Potter. There was a strange dark wizard here last week asking around. Most of us talked to him at least once. Had a kind of foreign way speakin', though, like he didn't grow up here…not our English if you know what I mean."

"I think so. Like from America or Australia or South Africa?"

"Yes, or Irish. But it was real faint…like he picked it up from old ancestors, not his parents…you understand?"

"Yeah, actually, I get that. I talk to people like that fairly often," Harry said. "So you think this is the guy that actually hired Dolohov?"

"Think so, deary! But, I don't think he was the true client. I think he was acting as an agent for someone else."

"Why?"

"Just the way he made his inquiries. You know…things like 'friend of mine is looking for someone to do a dirty piece of business'…'know where a guy I know could find someone to help him solve a problem'…the kinds of questions that make you think he's a middleman. Course, he might just be tryin' to cover up his own tracks, but didn't think so, I didn't." the old crone added.

Harry took a couple of Galleons from his pocket and gave them to her. "You've been a big help. Anyone else here in the alley I might talk to?" he asked.

"Doubt it, Love. Aurors aren't too popular here, you know," she laughed.

Harry left her alone in the alley where others might not notice they had talked to each other. He made a couple of stops in stores on the way back to Diagon Alley, simply to confirm the presence of the strange wizard and gather a few more sparse details about his accent and appearance. Then he headed back to the Ministry to meet once again with his fellow investigators.

"That seems to be the word on the street," Dirk Truncheon said as Harry reported on his conversations. "It seems pretty clear that a stranger came here from out of town, acting on behalf of a third party to find a killer. Harry's contact seems to think that Boris Dolohov is a likely wand man for the killing itself, and he's definitely on the run. I heard that several places. Did you get anywhere on travel arrangements, Ron?"

"Yeah, I did, and some are interesting. Dolohov had a port key arranged for this morning, and interestingly enough, it was for Bulgaria. I haven't tracked down the stranger yet…only had an hour so far to work on it, and I'll be we'll find out he used muggle transport. Maybe even flew in from out of the UK. That'll make it harder, but we'll be able to get it eventually.

"The really interesting one may come as a bit of a surprise. Draco Malfoy has been in England for the past three days. He did not just get in here this morning!"

"What! You're kidding!" exclaimed Dirk and Harry at the same time.

"Nope. He flew in on Air India on the 14th, arriving the morning of the 15th, and checked into a muggle hotel in the West End. Not a cheap one, either. And yesterday, he took the train to Liverpool, but there's no record of him coming back. He must have apparated back or used the floo when he found out the Minister had recalled him."

"Well…there's a little something we'll have to look into," Harry said. "I think you would admit that Draco might have a grudge or two against Krum…same one you or I might harbor, right Ron?"

"Oh yeah! First thing I thought of when I found out," Ron said.

"Well, I guess the first order of business tomorrow will be asking some hard questions of our International Affairs representative," Dirk said. "But in the meantime, we're all exhausted. Let's call it a night, go home, get a good meal and some sleep, and bet back here in the morning."

With a loud pop, Hermione appeared on the walkway outside the Burrow gate. For a long time she stood there, looking at the magical house where she had spent many of her happiest days, and some of her saddest. She wondered if this was the last time she would see it. Almost certainly, it would be the last time she would knock on the door and be greeted warmly as a full member of the family. Finally summoning up her Gryffindor courage, she opened the gate and walked up the path.

At her knock, the door flew open and she was engulfed, as usual, in Molly Weasley's open arms. "Oh Hermione, dear, I'm so glad to see you so early. The children have been wonderful…they're all sleeping now. Come in. Have a cup of tea with me. How did you get away from work so early? Did the experiment complete ahead of schedule?"

"Molly, please take a breath. Yes, I'll have a cup of tea. But there is no experiment and I need to talk to you. Alone. And I hate to be so direct, but there is no other way and very little time. I don't think you are going to be so happy to be with me when I've had my say."

"Oh dear! This sounds very serious!"

"Probably about as serious as a family matter can get," Hermione said.

"Oh my. Trouble with Ron, honey?" By now, they were seated at the old familiar table, across from one another, with their steaming cups in front of them.

"Not yet. But there will be. Wait until you hear what I have to say. Please promise me you will try to not be too angry with me, because I need your help, advice and support. But realistically, I know you're not going to like me in a few minutes, and expecting your help may be too much to ask. Just try…please!" Hermione was begging now, and tears were beginning to stream down her face. She took a calming sip.

"Molly, I've made a terrible mistake. Several of them, actually. I've lied and cheated, and hidden all of it, and I'm about to be exposed. There is no longer any way I can hide it from Ron, or from you and the rest of the family. I can't expect any of you to understand it. It is way too much to ask you to forgive me. But the welfare of a child is at stake, so I am only hoping that all of you will accept it, and maybe we can work it out for the future."

"Merlin's grave, Hermione! What can possibly be that horrible?" asked Molly.

"It's a very long story, and very complicated. I almost don't know where to start. As you know, when I was in American, I shared an apartment with Draco Malfoy. What you don't know is that he had been telling me for several months that he loved me. Eventually, we let our feelings get away from our control. But when we got back to England, I decided I had to make a choice between Draco and Ron, and as you certainly must realize, I chose Ron. I loved him so much, but I also loved Harry and Draco, and it was not easy. I just decided that I had loved Ron longer, and all of you guys so much, and it just made more sense to me to marry Ron and be part of this family.

"But then Draco married a girl we had met in America, and when she died, I felt I had to be there for him. Being together with him like that was a mistake, the first of many. It rekindled all those old, conflicted feelings…and…and…I had a brief fling with him. An affair…no other way to describe it. I cheated on Ron with Draco."

"Oh, Gods! No!" screamed Molly, throwing her hands over her ears as if to show she didn't want to hear another word. Of all the people in the world, Molly Weasley knew how her hotheaded youngest son would react to this news. She knew Hermione was in danger, and in more ways than one. At the same time, Molly was having a hard time with her own emotions. She felt totally betrayed by a woman she had come to see as her second daughter. It was as though the trap door in a scaffold had opened, and she faced an endless drop before the rope would snap.

"It gets worse, Molly."

"It can't get worse, Hermione."

"'Fraid so. Shortly after Lindsay died, Ron was out of town, and I spent a weekend at Malfoy Manor. Then, when Ron came home, I felt so guilty that he and I had several passionate nights together again. A few weeks later, and I'm pregnant with Hugo. Having been with two different men several times each in a period of seven days, I had absolutely no idea who the father was!

"But without really having any idea why, Ron had always been suspicious and jealous of Draco, so he ordered Draco to stay away from us. And when I tried to apologize to Draco, he told me he didn't want anything to do with the baby…to treat it like Ron's no matter what…and then he married Astoria Greengrass, and they wasted no time getting out of the country.

"But as Hugo has gotten older, it's become more and more clear that Draco might be the father. The coloring, the eyes…they're much more Malfoy than Weasley. I was really scared that in another year or two, it would be too obvious to avoid. So I wrote Draco last month, and three days ago, he came to England so we could talk about it."

By now, Molly was a bit more under control. "Why are you choosing this moment to tell me this? You're not planning on leaving Ron to go with Malfoy, are you? If so, you certainly shouldn't expect my help! You've hurt him enough as is."

"Oh no. Nothing like that. In fact, I am only hoping that maybe you can help me salvage my marriage. I have to tell all of you now because I have no choice. I know that doesn't make me look any better in your eyes, because, yes, I probably wouldn't tell you at all if I didn't have to. But it's going to come out anyway, and probably as soon as tomorrow.

"Because here's the problem. As you know, someone murdered Viktor Krum. For reasons you might not yet know, all of us…Me, Ron, Harry and Draco…had a motive why we might kill Krum. It has to do with something horrible he did to me while I was still in school, and we all hated him enough to kill him. Well, we're all supposed to have alibis, but Draco's and mine won't hold up. It won't hold up, because neither of us was where we were supposed to be when Krum was killed. Draco wasn't in India, and I wasn't working at the Ministry, then or today. Instead, we were at a pub in Liverpool talking about Hugo."

There was a long silence. "Oh. I see." Molly was silent again. "And now you are going to be forced to tell that to the investigators, who happen to include Ron and Harry, to get off the suspect list." From another room, the cry of a child told the women that the young ones were waking from their naps.

As Hermione and Molly were cleaning up and dressing the Potter and Weasley children, Ginny Potter arrived at the Burrow with James in tow. "Just picked him up from Pre-Spell," Ginny said. Then she noticed the chill in the air. "What's with you two?" she asked, her voice full of concern for her mother and her best friend.

Molly and Hermione looked at one another. "Might as well tell her. She'll find out soon enough, anyway, and maybe she can help," Hermione said.

Hermione began to repeat the tale, and Molly, having now had time to think about the situation, began to chime in with her own comments and opinions. Ginny was staggered. The enormity of the situation her sister-in-law was in wasn't lost on her. For one thing, she knew her brother well enough to understand how he would react to the betrayal. "Oh Hermione…how could you! You know how fragile Ron's ego is. He is going to be devastated, and he's going to be dangerous. I'll tell you the honest truth, girl; I'm not sure you should be the one to tell him. At least, not all of it at once."

"I don't know how good that idea is," Molly said. "Aren't you already in deep enough?"

"But she doesn't really have to bring Hugo into it yet," Ginny argued. "She just needs to say that she was with Draco last night. Let him be the one to say why. Let Ron take out his initial anger on Draco; once that passes, he will be a little easier to deal with for Hermione.

"In fact, Ron probably won't even completely believe the part about Hugo right away, and that will soften the blow even more."

"I have to say I'm really disappointed in your behavior, Hermione," said Molly. "I just feel that we took you in, made you a big part of our family, and now you've hurt one of my own. It just seems like you stabbed us in the back."

"Go easy on her, Mum!" Ginny exclaimed. "If anybody was going to lose it with her over this, besides Ron, it would be me. But I understand a little. Hermione's biggest weakness is that she is too sensitive, too gentle. She wants too much to help. It is hard for her not to love everyone, and it is even harder for her to separate the kinds of feelings she has for each person from one another. I've always known she loves Harry just as much as I do. She's been my biggest rival, but at the same time, my best friend.

"Oddly enough, I know that if I had ever given Harry the opportunity to cheat on me with Hermione, they would have done it because they love each other. And we would have all forgiven each other, too, because we all love one another. I am really hoping it will work out that way with Ron, too. It would be very hard for outsiders to understand, the closeness all four of us share with one another.

"And really, by the time Draco married Lindsay, I think he was included in our group, just like Neville, Luna and most of the others. Hermione didn't do anything to hurt Ron; she just wanted to help Draco through another tough time, and return some of the love he has given her since the war. Isn't that right, Hermione?"

"Yeah," she said very quietly. "I guess so. I'm not sure I fully understand it myself. You're partly right, but I have to admit I also didn't like Ronald depriving me of one of my friends by lying to him. He had no right to tell Draco that I was the one who didn't want him around any longer. Of course, by then, it was already too late…"

"Well, it was fifty-fifty who the father was," Ginny said. "We can't blame her for taking the chance, can we Mum?"

"Maybe not. But he's going to be so hurt. So hurt!"

"Yeah, he is. And we're going to be there for him. And we're going to be here for the children. And I, for one, am not going to back away from Hermione, either," Ginny added. "We are a family. Families stick together through things like this, and Hermione is always going to be a part of our family, warts and all.

When Ron stepped out of the fireplace at his house, he expected Hermione and the children to be there. But the house was empty. Returning to the fireplace, he used the message system to call the Burrow and ask if they were there.

"Yes, they're all here, and you need to come too. There's some news you need to hear before you go to work tomorrow," his mother told him.

When Ron arrived at the Burrow, he found his wife, his mother and father, his sister and his brother-in-law all there ahead of him. Harry was just as mystified as Ron, having been summoned from their house by Ginny. But he did find one of Molly's excellent dinners set on the table, and the children playing quietly in another room.

"What's up?" Ron asked wearily. "It's been a really long day, right mate?"

"Yeah, it has," said Harry, as they all sat down around the table and tucked in.

"This won't wait, you guys," said Ginny. "Hermione needs to tell you something before tomorrow, and I want both of you to promise not to over-react to this. On the one hand, it's not good, but on the other, it's not as bad as it's going to sound. Hermione…"

"Well,…OK. She sounded as reluctant as she was. Ron, you need to know that I was not at the Ministry last night or this morning as I told you. I lied to you, plain and simple. There is no way to soften it. I lied, because I didn't want to hurt you more than I could help. When I heard Krum had been killed, I just couldn't come up with anything else fast enough.

"Draco Malfoy didn't just get in to the country this morning as you think…"

"Yeah, we know that already," Ron said, rather shortly.

"What's this got to do with Malfoy?" Harry asked quickly, jumping in before Ron could get wound up.

"Well…he's been here for three days, actually," Hermione said. "He came because I wrote him a letter, and had some personal stuff to go over with him."

"What kind of personal stuff?" Ron interjected tersely.

"Let's save that for another time," Ginny said, anxious to minimize the damage on the first telling.

"I think, for the moment, I'm going to let Draco decide how he wants to go into that with you tomorrow," Hermione said. "Eventually, you will know. Trust me. If he won't tell you, I will. I'm done keeping secrets from you with him. You're my husband. This is my family. Any mistakes I've made were in the past, until this morning.

"The important thing for you two to know is that Draco didn't kill Krum, and neither did I. We couldn't have, because we were having a couple of pints together at a pub in Liverpool. We were there most of the night, and we apparated back to London early this morning, just before I flooed back home. We are each other's alibi, and no matter how strange it may look, what we were doing had nothing to do with Viktor Krum."

"OK, I've really got a lot of questions about this," Ron said, "but I'm willing to respect your request to wait until tomorrow. However, tit for tat. I think you should know that unless Malfoy turns out to be a certain very mysterious wizard, or his client, we already don't think he had much to do with Krum. We think we know who the wand man is. We just need to find out who hired him."

**_A/N: OK, I've spent a lot of time writing this, and leaving a review requires so little time. Use the dropdown to the left, and let me know what you think. And by the way, if you like this story, there are many more in our Community Archive, "To The Epilogue and Beyond"._**


	16. Book 1, Chapter 16, The Path Not Taken

BOOK 1, CHAPTER 16: THE PATH NOT TAKEN

Tomorrow came too soon for Hermione. After dinner, Harry and Ron had arranged a meeting in Truncheon's office for 9 AM. In addition to the investigative team, it was to be a command performance for Draco Malfoy and Hermione. To make it worse, she had gotten virtually no sleep. How could she with Ron sharing her bed, and tension as thick as cheddar cheese between them. Her stomach was in knots, she shook with fear and emotional anguish, and all the while Ron tossed, turned, and talked in his sleep beside her.

At the first sliver of dawn through the window, she dragged herself out of bed. It was chilly in the room, and she shook with both cold and dread when her bare feet hit the floor. By now she felt hollow and resigned, much like a condemned prisoner must feel on the morning of execution. Even when she fought in the war, she had never felt like this. There was never a sense of impending doom. For the first time, she knew what it must be like to walk the steps to the gallows.

The inevitability of her situation began to numb her senses. There was no way out. She was caught in the web of her own betrayals. It was as though some outside force had conspired to trap her, yet she knew she had painted herself into this corner.

She started the shower out cold, jarring herself awake, then gradually increased the temperature and allowed it to warm her. She dressed conservatively in professional robes, then went to the kitchen to make coffee and get breakfast ready for the children. Once it was nearly ready, she woke Ron and the kids. After they ate, they would floo everyone to the Burrow, then she and her husband would go to the Ministry together.

At the Potters', things were only slightly less tense, although for different reasons. Harry was deeply concerned about his two best friends.

"This has the potential to be very bad, Gin," he said.

"Well yeah … you think!" she replied, the concern for her brother and his wife clearly showing in her voice. "I couldn't believe Ron was able to keep it together last night. He must be guessing at least some of the truth by now. I know they have forgiven and forgotten a lot over the years, but this is going to be hard."

"Don't I know it!" Harry exclaimed. "They are both so volatile. Most of the time, it's Hermione who has had to do the forgiving. Not this time. And Ron's temper! He is likely to say or do anything without thinking about it, especially if he thinks he's getting second best again. I just don't see how this can turn out good today."

"Me either," said Ginny, tugging nervously at her hair. "I fear for their marriage. Oh, Harry! What will happen to Rose and Hugo? This is just going to be a disaster."

"In the long run, I hope their kids will be OK. This is a big extended family, and they'll always have lots of love and support. It won't be anything like it was for me after I lost my parents. But there's no use trying to downplay it, either. Family breakups are hardest on the kids. Maybe Ron and Hermione can work through it for the sake of Rose and Hugo."

"Do you think it will help if I go with you this morning?" Ginny asked.

"Might be a good idea, Gin," Harry answered. "I'm not sure who's going to come out of this needing support, but I bet someone will. Let's take the kids over to your mum's, and you can go in with me. Do you have training today?"

"Later. But if things go really wrong, I can let Gwenog know I have to miss. She owes me a personal day."

In her heart, Ginny was terrified for her brother. In pillow talk, Harry had shared with her over the years the risky ways Hermione had behaved after school. And more than anyone else, she understood the family dynamic that often caused Ron to feel inferior. Coupled with his nature to react rather than think things through, Ginny couldn't help but predict the news about Hugo would cause an undisciplined explosion.

As she dressed, Ginny continued to tug uncomfortably at her hair. Of all the Weasley children, she was the toughest, the most like Charlie, who worked with dragons, and feared very little. But this had her scared.

In his hotel room, Draco Malfoy was completing a letter to Astoria. He knew the meeting would not go well. There would be no way to avoid telling some secrets, and there would be no way to keep Tory from hearing at least some of the news. And, she had just found out they were going to have a little girl of their own.

Draco might have changed over the years from the cold and calculating manipulator he had been in school, but it was in his Slytherin nature to protect and preserve his family and assets. He knew it would go much better if Tory heard the news from him. In fact, it was in her pureblood nature to keep up appearances, and avoid the consequences of scandal, no matter what personal cost she might have to bear.

So Draco simply told her the truth. She knew he had been involved with Hermione on and off. He told her now that one of those involvements might have produced a child that he had thought was Ron Weasley's when he married Tory. He had seen pictures of the child, and as the boy grew older, it became apparent that Hugo looked too much like Draco to ignore the possibility, and so he had come to England to meet with Hermione and discuss the issue.

Re-reading the owl, Draco felt it should be effective. It told the necessary truth without getting into the hurtful parts. Astoria was an understanding woman. The kind of tolerant upper class wife who knew how to maintain position and power. She had even been caring and affectionate, if not loving, towards Scorpius. And Scorpius was a half-blood. Draco would not embarrass her by insisting on some sort of close relationship with Hugo, certainly never do anything to disrupt the Weasley family.

But, he did not write in the letter the fact that, above all else, he wanted to know the truth.

After sending off the owl, Draco had poached eggs over corned beef hash and toast in his room, then showered and dressed in his business robes. Walking over to the fireplace in his suite, he flooed to the Ministry and presented himself at Truncheon's office.

Fortunately, Dirk Truncheon had a large room. In addition to his dark cherry desk and bookcases, it had a long oval conference table with ten chairs. Although it was a minute before nine when he arrived, Draco found he had only one chair left to him, at the far end of the table from Dirk, Harry and Ron. Perhaps that was a good thing. He noted that both Potter and Weasley had brought their wives. Of course, Hermione would have to be there. He supposed Ginny Potter was moral support for her brother and his wife.

The other four in the room were on the investigative team. Draco nodded as Truncheon introduced everyone.

"Before we get started on the investigation into Krum's death, I believe the air needs to be cleared up regarding the whereabouts of Hermione Weasley and myself on the night of the killing," Draco said. "And there are some other delicate matters that have come to light in the past day we can no longer avoid.

"Dirk, let me first say that I am willing to submit to veritaserum if necessary. I want to say that in the presence of the entire team, because I would like to ask you to excuse the other four members for a brief time. Some of this is embarrassing, and should be kept among friends if possible."

Truncheon looked at Harry, who nodded agreement. "I'm starting to feel like I really don't know the whole story again," Truncheon said. "Folks, if you four could wait outside. Please don't go far. We'll bring you up to speed on everything you need to know to do your jobs, but it appears we need to evaluate the relevance of the information first."

When they had left, Draco began again. "I understand the main two questions are when did I actually arrive in England, and what was I doing with Hermione Weasley on the night Viktor Krum was murdered. The 'why' questions may not be as important, but of course, they are the motivation for the others.

"Clearly, I did not arrive in England after Krum was killed. I had in fact already been here three days. I came here because I had been in contact with my friend Hermione on something, and she asked me to come for a face to face meeting."

"What could my wife possibly want with you again?" Ron exploded. "I told you it bothered her to have you around."

"Yes, Ron … YOU told him that!" Hermione exclaimed. "Your saying it didn't make it exactly true. Face it. You were the bothered one."

"Right," Draco said. "Doesn't really matter. The point is, as she just confirmed, Hermione asked me to come, and I did. And on the night Viktor Krum was killed, she and I were in Liverpool, at a pub, sharing some pints and old memories."

"Memories of what?!" Ron shouted. "And why all the way up in Liverpool? Why not just have your little reunion here in London?"

"Weasley, you know very well that ever since Hogwarts, I've tried very hard to be friends will all of you. If not friends, at least not enemies. As it's turned out, for various reasons, I've been better friends with your wife than with either you or Harry. It's partly because we spent a year as roommates, partly because she looked after me when my first wife died, and partly because of the way I feel about Hermione."

"Feel about Hermione? What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" Ron's face was starting to get really red, a danger sign.

"Ron, the best word to describe it is 'conflicted'. I know for sure that Hermione does not feel the same way about me that I feel about her. Your wife loves you very much, Weasley. You should never ever doubt her love for you. And I loved my first wife, and I love Tory. But I have feelings for Hermione that go back so far it would surprise you; feelings that go back to school when I was calling her names to cover up what I felt about her."

"Yeah, well, you weren't hiding away a meeting with my wife to commiserate over old Hogwarts wounds, were you?" Ron said suspiciously.

"No. Sadly, not," Malfoy said. "We indeed had another issue to discuss, and before I start on that, I want you to understand that everything I am about to say is entirely my fault. Hermione is blameless…"

"Draco, no!" Hermione said, standing up from her chair. "Don't you dare try to take all the …"

"HERMIONE IS BLAMELESS!" Draco shouted, drowning her out. "Sit down, please, Hermione. Ron, after my first wife died, Hermione was a great comfort to me. I repaid her kindness by being a cad. There is no other way to describe it. Remember, I knew her weaknesses from living with her. One night when I was wallowing in my misery, we drank too much, and I got carried away. I did not act like a gentleman. I did not control myself."

Ron was getting redder; Hermione was slumped in her chair, all color gone.

"I took advantage of her."

"It was not rape!" Hermione could not stay quiet. "It was not like what Krum did to me. It went on longer than one …"

"HERMIONE, SHUT UP!" Draco's command slammed into her like a rock, stunning her to silence.

"I took advantage of her, that's all there is to it. She only feels guilty because she allowed herself to be put in that position."

Ron was out of his chair now, advancing on the other end of the table. "What else?" he demanded.

"You were out of the country. Shortly after, you returned. Like any wife who loved and missed her husband, she welcomed you back very affectionately. Soon after, she found herself pregnant. Perhaps you remember the sequence now; that was when you ordered me to stay away."

"What are you saying?" Ron snarled. His eyes were now narrow slits. His hands were balled in fists at his sides.

"I am only saying that Hermione has had some reason to question your son's parentage. I, on the other hand, have never …."

"You bastard!" Ron leaped towards Malfoy, but Harry had seen what was coming, and stopped him with a mild non-verbal leg-locking spell. Hermione began quietly sobbing in her chair. Ginny reached across the table and took her hands.

"…I, on the other hand, have never believed that Hugo Weasley was my son. He was, and is, yours in every way that matters. I do not claim him. I do not want him. I will not acknowledge him nor have anything to do with him. I only came to England because my friend Hermione is concerned. She wanted to show me some pictures, and see what I thought about the situation. It is only a coincidence that Krum was murdered, and that this needs to come out. If not for that, I would never have said anything."

A few moments of silence passed. Some of the color drained from Ron's face. "Harry, let me go!" he demanded.

"Not if he's going to start a fight in my office," Truncheon said to Harry.

"Let me go, Harry. I won't hit him. I swear." Harry released the spell. Ron turned towards Hermione. "I can't stay. I'm sorry, Dirk, I've got to get out of here for a while. Hermione, eventually I'll either be home or at the Burrow." He rushed towards the door.

Ginny jumped from her seat. "Ron, wait!" He was already out the door. "I'll go after him," she said to Harry and Hermione, who nodded. Draco stood and moved down to a seat across from them.

"I'm so sorry, Mia," he said. She nodded sadly.

"Had to happen eventually," she said. "That's really what I was trying to tell you the other night. Hugo is going to grow up to look a lot like you, and no matter how much you want to stay away or be involved, it's going to be pretty obvious. Noble of you to take all the blame, but we both know that isn't true, either."

"Sad thing is we were already pretty sure you guys are not involved," Trucheon said. "Harry found out yesterday that a dark wizard named Boris Dolohov probably did the actual killing. But it was almost certainly a 'for hire' hit. What we don't know is who hired him or why, and I'm not sure we ever will.

"Did you know this Dolohov, Draco?"

"Oh, for sure I knew about him. He graduated from Hogwarts our second year, Harry. And you dueled with his father at least once. Big time Death Eater family. I'm surprised a guy like Boris Dolohov isn't already in Azkaban."

"I think he may not have actually been in the war," Harry said. "It looks like he may have gone overseas and become a hit man."

"Well, I suppose that makes our alibi a moot point, Hermione," Draco said. "In fact, that might cast suspicion back on us. It could look like we were trying to cook up an alibi by going up to Liverpool."

"Actually, we don't think so," Harry said. "We have witnesses who saw Dolohov meeting with a contact in Knockturn Alley, and the guy they saw doesn't look anything like you. Of course, he was probably a middleman too, but if you knew this was going to happen, you would have been much better off staying in India. As for Hermione, I just can't see her doing this. She's certainly smart enough to have set up such a complicated plot (Hermione smiled for the first time in two days), but she's no killer. She couldn't kill Death Eaters, and if she wanted to get Krum, she simply would have done it. She's had many chances over the years.

"No. I agree with Dirk. We're going to keep working this case, but I won't be surprised if we don't solve it right away."

"Draco, we need you to get back on the job," said Truncheon. "You're going to have to settle down the Bulgarians, let them know what we've found out so, and see if there's anything they can help us with. Maybe they know something about Dolohov."

"And Hermione," Harry said, "I think you had better go find Ron. We're going to need him here in the office, and we're going to need him fully functioning. I know this isn't going to be an easy time for either of you, honey. Please try to work through it. Ginny and I will be there for you."

"OK," she sniffed, getting up from her chair.

"Hermione," Draco said, "Once again, I'm so sorry." She nodded as she left the room, wiping more tears from her cheeks.

Hoping for the best, Hermione went home first. But she wasn't surprised to find evidence that Ron had been there before her, and that he had taken some clothing and toiletries with him. Ron would do one of two things in a situation like this. He would yell and scream and insult her. Or he would leave. For how long, she could not say. During his Quidditch career, he had been gone a couple times for several weeks. The longest time he had completely abandoned her was when she and Harry were hunting Horcruxes. He was as unpredictable as he was impulsive.

She heard a pop downstairs, and rightly assumed that Ginny had arrived. She rushed down the staircase. "Where is he?" she asked, tears again streaming from her eyes.

"He went to the Burrow, of course," said Ginny. "Honey, I don't think you should go there right now. I think it will be better if you give him some time and space. No matter how Draco tried to play it off, he feels you betrayed him too. And well, to be honest, from what you told us last night, Mum and I feel a little bit that way too.

"Let's pack a bag or two, and we'll go to our place. Then, this afternoon, I'll go to the Burrow and get all the kids and bring them to Potter Manor. I really want to get them away from Ron, too, because I don't know what he'll do as he starts to think again."

"Harry wants him back at work as soon as possible," Hermione said.

"Yeah, well that's another issue. I think it will be good for him to get back quickly, but those guys are going to have to keep him away from Draco. He's not going anywhere near the office until Harry comes home, and I can talk to him about this."

The girls packed the things Hermione would need for a week's stay away from home, and gathered up the things the two Weasley children would want. By the time they got to Potter Manor, Harry had come home too.

"Ron?" he asked as soon as they popped out of the fireplace.

"At the Burrow," Ginny said.

"Good. Best place for him right now. I shouldn't have sent you after him; I wasn't thinking clearly. That's why I decided to come home early. Look, I'm going to have to go over there right now, work related. Anything I should tell him?"

"No, but how long will you be?" Ginny asked.

"Not long. Maybe an hour or so."

"OK. Good. All the kids are there too, but I want to get them all here," Ginny said. "In about an hour, I'll floo over, and you can help me get them home. Trying to get all five of them at once is like herding cats."

Harry smiled. "Not to mention that having me there will insure that Ron won't give you any trouble over his kittens."

"Well sighted!" she said, and the relief was apparent on her face, and on Hermione's.

"Where's Draco?" Hermione asked, worried that he might simply leave England without talking to her again.

"Working," Harry said. "But he's coming here for dinner tonight. I was pretty sure you and the kids would be here too. He'll be done with his mission tomorrow, and I think he plans on going back to India straight away. I thought it would be best if the two of you worked through anything still on the table before he leaves."

"Yes. Thank you. That was very thoughtful. Ginny, I have to go into the office for about two hours. And, yes, it really is the Ministry I'm heading out for. There really is an experiment cooking; just not the one I was pretending to look after."

"OK, I'll plan dinner for seven. Is that OK Harry? Hermione?" Ginny asked.

"Sure, hon. I told Draco six-thirty, but we'll do cocktails."

"Seven's fine," Hermione said. "And Harry … tell Ron … please tell Ron I still love him, and only him."

"Sure, sweetie," Harry said with a smile and a hug. "We're here for both of you; you know that. Ginny and I will do all we can to soften the blow."

Harry and Hermione flooed off on their respective missions. When Harry arrived at the Burrow, he found Ron sitting at the kitchen table with his mother. His eyes were red and it was easy to see he was in distress. Ron was never one to hide his emotions. "Tough news to take, mate," Harry said. "But I just saw her, and she wants you to know that she still loves you, and never has loved anyone as much as you. Malfoy is not, and never had been, her boyfriend. You have always been her boyfriend, her husband, her true soul mate, her love."

Ron nodded. "Well, that's fine, and I'm sorry you're in the middle once again, Harry. I suppose I believe she thinks she feels that way. But it's going to be hard for me to ever trust her again. I mean … for years I've thought of her as totally honest and open, and now I find she not only has secrets, but the biggest possible secret! I think I'm going to need some time and space to adjust to this, let alone think about forgiving her."

"Ron, this is hard for me to say, but there's always been a side to Hermione you were blind to. You've always seen her as the sweet, innocent, little 11-year-old bookworm know-it-all we met on the Hogwarts Express. But there's always been a wilder side to Hermione, and you've just ignored it. When we went to the clubs, you sat at a table and drank. She danced with every guy in the place. When you weren't around, she was experimenting with all kinds of things, and frankly, with other people."

Ron banged his fist on the table. "You mean she's always been cheating on me? And you knew about it, and didn't warn me off?"

"It wasn't really like that Ron. At least, that's not the way she saw it. She always knew she loved you. What was less clear was whether she was in love with you, and there's a big difference. It scared her some after you got engaged. Because she felt conflicted, she wanted to make sure you were really the one she loved the most, the one she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. What you call cheating, Hermione saw as experimenting to make sure she was making the right choice. And whether you realize it or not, she had a lot to choose from."

"How many?" Ron demanded.

"See mate, here's the problem right now," Harry said. "You only hear part of what people say, and it's always the part you want to hear. It doesn't matter who, or how many, because in the end she picked you. And by the way, the others who really loved her let her go, and were happy for her that she picked the one that loved her most."

Ron was quiet for awhile. "I'll have to think. I can't right now. Just tell her that."

"OK. Now, in the meantime, you and I have some work to discuss. Ginny will be by in a short while to get the kids, including yours. That way you can have all the time and space you need without having to worry about your family."

Harry and Ron talked about the cases they had open, including the Krum murder. Getting back to business helped distract Ron from his troubles. After a time, he found himself concentrating on the mysteries. "So, tomorrow, we start trying to find Dolohov," he said. Harry nodded. "If we can find him, we may be able to find out who the mystery man was, and track down the actual instigator. It would be easier if we had a clue about motive; then we could try to work from both directions. But I don't think we'll know a motive until we find the person who funded the hit," Ron added.

"Yeah. The interesting thing about this is that there are apparently so many layers of contact here that it might not even be someone from the magical world," Harry said. "Krum apparently had a lot of conquests, and I imagine more than a few of them were muggle girls. He could have been involved in a betting scandal like that ass Ludo Bagman we met fourth year. Like all the wizards who went to Durmstrang, he could have gotten into the wrong dark magic, or the wrong crowd. Or could have nothing to do with any of those things, be so off the wall we'd never think of it."

With a pop, Ginny arrived. She immediately rushed over and hugged her brother. "I'm so sorry, Ron! When she told us last night…" and her hand slapped over her mouth as she realized she had just let another cat out of the bag.

"So, not only betrayed, but the last to know!" Ron shouted. "You too, Harry?"

"Well, yeah, I was there last night."

"So you've had quite the while to figure out how you were going to talk me off, humm? Try to soften the blow. Crap. Bastards!" And Ron ran off, up the steps towards his room, upsetting his chair as he got to his feet.

"I'm sorry, honey." Ginny looked contritely at Harry. "I thought you had maybe told him that we had some warning."

Harry spread his hands in frustration. "Won't matter what we say to him for a while, Gin. You know your brother. He'll hear what he wants to hear and believe what he wants to believe until he processes all of this. I just hope it doesn't take him five or six years like it did at school. Maybe I'm giving Hermione too much credit, but I feel so sorry for both of them.

"Let's gather up the kids and get home. I don't think we can do any more good by staying, and we might do more harm."

"Do you really have to take all the kids?" Molly Weasley spoke up for the first time since Harry had arrived. Suddenly, he noticed that for the first time in many years, she had not greeted them with hugs.

"Mum, I think it would be best for now," Ginny said. "They're innocent in all this, and it's going to be far more obvious that something is terribly wrong around Ron than it will be at our house. Hermione will be there for dinner, and if you can come over tomorrow to watch them there, all of us have to get back to work."

"Of course, dear. I see." Molly said. "Of course a child's place is with the mother. I'll be sure he knows they are safe."

"Thanks, Mum. He'll be welcome at our house tomorrow, and they can start working out where they go from here."

Ginny and Harry rounded up the five children, and managed to floo everyone back to Potter Manor without anyone being injured. They brushed each other off, and Ginny sent the four- and five-year-olds to the playroom, then fed Lily and Hugo, and put them down for the evening. She would have to feed them one more time before going to bed. Then she asked Kreacher to organize the house elves and let them know who was coming for dinner, and what she wanted them to prepare.

Harry got the bar stocked and prepared, and opened a couple of good Bordeaux's to breath. When the Ministry limo pulled up at six-thirty, he was ready for Draco.

"Tough day, Harry?" Draco asked, a touch of concern in his voice as he pushed his blond bangs out of his eyes.

"Yeah, mate. Tougher than most. What can I get you to drink?"

"Dirty gin, if you've got the olives. Brand doesn't matter. You get a taste for that stuff in India.

"Listen, you can't imagine how sorry I am about all this. First, I didn't even know for sure about Hugo until this year. And I never expected to be walking into all this crap when she asked me to come."

"Do you want to meet him? He's here right now, you know." Harry said. Draco was quiet for a long time. He sipped the martini.

"Is she here?"

"No, but she should be here soon. She had to go into work. Ron will not be here. He's run off to the Burrow to think, and I suspect she may not hear from him for a few days."

"I think I'd like very much to meet him. But maybe I should wait until she gets here. She might have a different idea."

"Different idea about what?" Hermione's voice. She had just stepped out of the fireplace, and was dusting off.

"Hey!" Harry and Draco both greeted her at the same time. Ginny stepped into the room and added her greeting.

"Hey yourselves," Hermione said, looking around to see if Ron was there. "He didn't come back with you and the kids, huh?"

"He said he had to think, then I accidentally pissed him off, and he fled to his room to mope," Ginny said. "My brother can be such a prat."

"No, I deserve that," Hermione said. "I've hurt him. I can't expect him to forgive and forget right away. Truth be told, I don't know if I expect him to ever forgive me.

"So, Draco, what might I have a different idea about?" she added.

"Harry had just asked me if I wanted to meet Hugo. I told him I would, but that I thought you should be here as you might not want me to."

"Harry, can you make me a drink, please? Gin and tonic with a squeeze of lime."

"Me too, same thing," Ginny said.

While Harry worked at the bar, Hermione stared into the fire for a few moments. "I think it would be brilliant if you met all the kids, Draco," she finally said. "Are they all up in the playroom, Gin?"

"Lil and Hugo are napping, but the other three are all up there, flitting around on their training brooms the last time I looked in," Ginny replied with a smile.

"Well bring your drink! Let's go meet the Potter/Weasley brood," Hermione said, grabbing Draco by the hand and pulling him towards the stairs.

The Potter playroom was immediately at the top of the stairs, separating the children's wing from the master suite. It was one of the two largest rooms in the house, being immediately above the ground floor ballroom. Harry had designed it to withstand the roughest kinds of play, including indoor Quidditch. The walls and floor were thickly padded, and there were no windows or other breakables.

"The lighting is one of Hermione's first muggle/magic inventions," Harry said. "Her whole house is lighted with this stuff. It's muggle electricity, but she sort of pulls it out of thin air. Don't ask me how. I don't understand anything she does."

"No surprise there. I didn't understand a thing she was studying at MIT!" Draco said with a laugh.

"Kids, come on over here a minute. There's someone we want you to meet," Hermione called out. Four little angels landed softly on the floor. "This is Mr. Malfoy. He went to school with your mums and dads, and now he lives far away in India. But he works for the Ministry like we do, and just now, he's visiting on business.

"All of them are either four or five, Draco," she added. At that moment, Ginny stepped into the room with the two little ones in tow.

He could quickly spot the five were all very different from one another. A boy with reddish brown hair was the first to step up. "Helwow, Mister Melfoy," he said, offering his hand very formally to Draco.

Draco squatted down, and grinned. "I bet you are James," he said. "I can see your mother in you, especially your freckles." The boy nodded. "And you are Rose!" he exclaimed to the oldest girl in the room. "Oh, my! You must be the spitting image of your mother at your age. The hair, the chocolate eyes, the teeth. Such a beauty! Don't you go biting through your lower lip like your mother did!"

Another boy, with unruly black hair and emerald eyes, stayed back a bit. "You are Albus Severus Potter," Draco said. "Seven years from now, you are going to look exactly like your father looked the day I met him. Will he need glasses, Harry?"

"We don't know yet," Harry said. "No one in Ginny's family has ever needed specs, so he might get lucky. On the other hand, he certainly has the Potter eyes."

"Well spotted!" Draco exclaimed.

"And this," said Hermione, taking the little boy's hand, "is Hugo Weasley. Or Hugh, as we all call him." Draco was simply stunned. Standing before him was a miniature Scorpius, but with brown eyes. Not only was the hair blond, but Hugo had the same narrow nose, and triangular face. He could see Hermione in the boy's cheekbones and eyes, but he could find no sign of a Weasley. No wonder she had been concerned.

"It's a great pleasure to meet you, Hugh Weasley. I've heard a great deal about you, and you've certainly lived up to me expectations," Draco said quietly.

"As you can probably tell, it's nearly nap time for Hugh," Hermione said. "The others will have dinner with us. Hugh and Lily get dinner a little later, at bedtime."

"Lily is a doll, too," Draco said politely.

"Hair as red as a London double-decker," laughed Harry. "And Ginny thinks Lily will be the Quidditch player of the century. Given what Ginny has done with the Harpies, I'm not about to argue."

"Harry, Kreacher says dinner is ready," Ginny said. The party moved downstairs, Albus and Rose hanging back again, taking comfort among strangers with one another. James, meanwhile, pushed forward like a true Gryffindor, bombarding Draco with all kinds of questions, some of which actually made sense.

The meal passed comfortably enough. The conversation avoided the controversial topics, mostly being about Draco's experiences in India, and Harry's experiences chasing criminals. A long phase centered on Ginny's career with the Harpies, and her plans for retirement. And then, Draco had to hear about Hermione's work with muggle physics.

"The main thing I've been able to do so far is harness electricity through magic so that we can now power all sorts of muggle devices. We are no longer limited to radio. We have television, and there are wizard channels available. We have computers, although we are still several years away from being entirely free of muggle technology in that area. By the time my children go to Hogwarts, I think I will be able to power the castle, and provide information technology to the students," she said proudly.

After dinner, the children were put to bed, and the adults retired to the parlor. Dessert, cheeses, and sweet wine were served. Coffee and tea were available. The comfortable conversation among old friends continued, but of course, there was also the underlying tension of the day's events. Finally, Draco asked Hermione if she would join him on a walk around the grounds.

"So, it is not going well with Ron, is it?" he asked.

"No." She sighed. "Ron is a fairly simple guy, Draco. He sees things in black and white. When he was a child, much of what you said about his family was true. He was used to getting second best. Frankly, I'm not sure that he ever truly accepted the fact that I chose him over others, who might have seemed to offer more than Ron. That's why this hurts him so much. He knows that whether Hugo is his or yours, whatever happened between you and I happened after I was supposed to be with him. And the fact that anything happened at all is the ultimate betrayal. I'll be lucky if he ever takes me back on any terms, let alone forgive me."

"You know I won't get in the way," Draco said, as they stopped and faced each other. "It's the same as it has always been for me, Hermione. I love you. I will not do anything to hurt you if I can possibly avoid it. The best way I can show how much I love you is to go home to Tory, and leave you free to try to repair your relationship with your husband. But make no mistake: Now that I've met Hugo, there is no question the boy is my son, with you. I will never try to claim him, but I am so glad that there is a part of both of us together in this world."

"I…I…I probably made the wrong choice, Dra." Hermione said. "It's been hard for me. First life was wonderful, new and exciting. Then it was frightening and dangerous. Then, when I was finally free, I was so confused. I was wild and crazy for a while, and when it came time that I had to choose, I think I chose wrongly. It's so sad, really. I experimented, and risked a lot to try to be sure, but when push came to shove, I think I still got it all wrong. I took safety, but I don't think anyone has, or ever will, loved me more than you." A tear made its way down her cheek. He softly rubbed it away with his thumb.

"We used to talk a lot about the road not taken, Hermione," he said. "We really don't know what would have happened if we had taken different paths. There's no use beating yourself up over the two paths in the forest, and the one you chose to take." He wrapped her up gently in his arms, then kissed her lightly on the forehead. Holding hands, they made their way back to the house.

The next day, Draco Malfoy headed home to wife, son and baby-to-be in India. Harry and Ron continued working with Dirk Truncheon to solve the murder of Viktor Krum, but for several years, there would be no break in the case.

At the end of the week, Ron Weasley sent his wife an owl letting her know he had rented a flat in muggle London. He told her they would remain friends, and would see each other at the Burrow frequently. But he did not want to live with her at present, and was certain that it would be better for their relationship in the long run if they avoided one another until he had time to sort out his feelings.

**_A/N: If at all possible, please take a moment now to read the new author's note added on May 18 to Chapter 1, Sunrise. It's important to me that you understand where this story comes from, and that you leave a review if you have time._**


	17. Book 1, Chapter 17, Assassin's Flight

BOOK 1, CHAPTER 17: FLIGHT OF THE ASSASSIN

It was the late fall of 2012 before there was a break in the Krum case. In the far north of Scotland, the deep snows came early that year. The dark assassin, Dolohov, had received another commission. As he crept towards his target, he felt confident that the heat was off in the United Kingdom; that he had stayed away long enough that the Aurors had forgotten all about Viktor Krum.

In a numbered account in the Swiss Wizard's Bank, Dolohov had a large pile of gold galleons, a pile grown larger recently by the fee for this assignment. It wasn't often since the fall of the Dark Lord that Dolohov had been given the chance to murder English muggles, but his employer was apparently tired of this family's refusal to do business with him.

Dolohov knew only the broadest background. Ever since that mudblood witch Hermione Weasley had invented a way to power muggle electronic devices, the demand for such machines had skyrocketed in the wizard world. The person who controlled distribution and sales of appliances would be a wealthy wizard indeed, and Dolohov's employer intended to corner the market. Unfortunately, this Scot muggle Clarke had become quite the unfair competitor. For one thing, he had married a powerful witch from the McGonagall clan. Using her connections, he had wormed his way into the Ministry, and received their endorsement. Dolohov's employer was furious. He had already lost millions, and was out for revenge.

Now it was nearly time. The hit had been planned for months. Dolohov had scouted the property many times, learning what wards were in place when the family was home, and researching how to remove them silently. His employer had worked behind the scenes to organize a diversion, insuring that the target would leave the castle for a few hours so that Dolohov could prepare the ambush.

The muggle home was a grey stone fortress, set high on a remote cliff overlooking the stormy North Sea. The building had been thoroughly restored, however, and the grounds were well-lighted.

Waving his wand in an intricate pattern, Dolohov dropped the wards. Staying in the shadows, he moved towards the house, which was only a short way from the gate. Off to the left side of the entry way was a security office. Dolohov's next step was to slip inside and take out the one bodyguard he knew had been left behind. Once the security had been breeched, he would hide inside the dark house and ambush the family when they returned from the outing.

The red-haired guard was seated, facing away from Dolohov, his attention fixed on a televised football match. Dolohov presumed he must be a muggle if he was watching footie instead of Quidditch. The sound coming from the television rose suddenly, and the man half rose with his arm in the air, celebrating along with the stands as the team he supported scored a goal. Dolohov drew his wand.

"I don't think so, Boris," shouted Ron Weasley, as he spun around and dove away from the path of Dolohov's first spell.

"Drop it, Dolohov!" shouted Harry Potter as he threw off his invisibility cloak, and pointed his own wand at the assassin.

Dolohov reacted quickly. He had not stayed alive during and after the war by being slow. With a practiced move, he dove, rolled, and came up pointing at Harry, but as he launched a Sectumsempra at Harry, the Auror was no longer standing there. From the left, Ron threw himself between Harry and a second curse, but screamed as it raked down his leg and opened him up.

Harry had been afraid of this when Ron insisted on being the decoy. Ever since he and Hermione had separated, Ron had taken ever more risks on the job. This was the third time in two years he had intercepted a curse meant for another Auror. Now blood was spurting from the long gash on his thigh.

In the meantime, Dolohov had hit Dirk Truncheon with a stunning spell as the lead investigator attempted to cut him off from the door. He started to aim a killing curse at Truncheon, but Harry hit him with Expelliarmus before the murderer could open his mouth. As his wand flew to Harry, Dolohov darted out the door.

"Please look after Ron, Dirk!" Harry begged. "I'll get him!" Harry charged out the door hot on Dolohov's heels. The assassin was fast on his feet. He quickly outdistanced Harry, darting through the castle gate and breaking sharply to his left. Just as Harry passed through the gate, Dolohov spun and apparated a short distance away, reappearing at the edge of the forest. He feinted to the right, into the woods, then broke sharply to the left again.

As Harry dashed across the field, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his broom, shrunken so he could carry it with him. Stopping briefly, he worked the enlargement spell to return it to full size. Just then, he heard the sound of a loud muggle motor, a lawn mower, or chain saw, from within the forest. Jumping on his broom, he darted towards the sound, dodging a large oak.

Clearing the first line of trees, Harry saw at once that it was neither a mower nor a saw, but a snowmobile. "So, that's how Dolohov got here," he thought to himself. The dark wizard rocketed away on the machine, heading down an old worn snow covered path the wound around the mature trees. A kilometer down the path, he slewed to the right, and began slaloming around the trees as if they were nothing more than traffic cones. Harry, swaying back and forth on his broom, had to be careful not to loose control and slam into one of the massive tree trunks.

For more than two kilometers, Harry chased the murderer through the forest, thankful only that the man no longer had a wand. But suddenly the forest opened into a huge clearing surrounding a small dark lake. Harry pulled his broom up into a screaming stop when he saw what was waiting on the lakeshore, but Dolohov drove the snowmobile fearlessly towards the hulking shape. Throwing it sideways, he lurched to stop, and leapt onto the back of the beast. Harry knew it immediately. A Norwegian Ridgeback. "Bloody Hell!" How in the world had Dolohov enchanted a dragon into a means of transportation?

Dolohov pulled back on the right rein, and the dragon turned its head towards Harry. "Surprised, are you Auror?" shouted the dark wizard, and the dragon saw Harry and blew a fiery blast in his direction. Then it spread its massive wings, and with a blast of snow, beat its way into the air and headed south.

Harry was not giving up. The team had put too much work into this charade, and he was not going to let Dolohov escape the trap so easily. He knew his broom was no speed match for a dragon in full flight, so he shrank it back into his pocket. But he decided to take a chance, and spinning on the spot, apparated to just outside Hogwarts. If he estimated correctly and the dragon held its course, he had about a 50-kilometer lead.

Sprinting through the Hogwarts gates up to Hagrid's hut, Harry called out to let the gamekeeper know he was there, but kept on running towards the hippogriff clearing. Picking out Buckbeak, Harry whistled. The winged animal turned towards Harry, and Harry executed a quick, but deep and respectful bow. Buckbeak immediately recognized Harry, bowed back, and allowed him to mount just as Hagrid showed up.

"I'm in pursuit, Hagrid … have ta borrow Bucky a little."

"You jus go get 'em, Arry!" called his old friend as the hippogriff rose quickly into the air.

Harry had calculated correctly, either by dumb luck or Auror's skill. As he guided Buckbeak in a southwesterly direction, the clouds parted to reveal a full moon, and against it was silhouetted the massive dragon. "After him, Bucky," Harry breathed into the hippogriff's ear.

In the magical world, nothing, not even a thestral, flies faster than a hippogriff. Buckbeak flattened himself out in his most aerodynamic shape, beat his wings hard against the cold night air, and quickly began to close the distance. "I want to come in from below and behind him, so he doesn't see me until the last possible moment," Harry whispered as though the creature could understand him.

Buckbeak might not speak English, but he understood the signals Harry was sending with his hands and legs. Harry was grateful for the several times he had ridden the animal, and the relationship between steed and rider he had been fortunate to develop. But as the frigid air rushed past his face, and numbed his fingers, he was beginning to regret taking he flight of the assassin to the skies.

But suddenly, they were on their prey. Harry pulled back on the reins, and Buckbeak rose up from behind the dragon. Harry pulled out his wand, and just as Dolohov became aware of them, shouted "Stupefy" at the dark wizard. Harry had once missed Antonin Dolohov with the curse, but Boris wasn't as lucky as his father had been. The red stream from Harry's wand caught him full in the chest. His eyes glassed over, and his hands lost their grip on his dragon. Unfortunately for him, at that moment the beast became aware of Buckbeak, and rolled to the right, unseating the rider.

As Dolohov fell, Harry put Buckbeak into a steep dive after him, still fully intent on taking the assassin alive so they could get the information they needed from him. They were over trees again, and the forest was quickly rising up to meet them in the moonlight. Barely a hundred meters above the treetops, Harry managed to perform his Aresto Momentum, and then gently guided Dolohov to the ground as Buckbeak glided in for a landing.

Jumping off the hippogriff's back, Harry dashed over and quickly replaced the Stupefy jinx with a full Petrificus Totalus, then muttered "Incarcerous" to send thick ropes around the wizard.

Once he had Dolohov under complete control, Harry conjured his Patronus, and sent the silver stag back to the castle to let Dirk Truncheon know. Very quickly, the stag returned to tell Harry that Dirk was transporting Ron immediately to St. Mungo's. He also said that he had sent his own Patronus ahead to the Burrow to let Ron's family know.

Harry searched the sky for any sign of Dolohov's dragon, but the Ridgeback had apparently flown off to wherever dragons go when their riders fall off. "Probably went to get breakfast," Harry snorted, with a quick, appreciative pat on Buckbeak's head. Using Levicorpus, Harry hoisted Dolohov up on Buckbeak, then mounted himself. Leaping into the air, and flying low, they headed south towards the Ministry of Magic.

Two days later, Ron came back to work.

"How was it mate?" Harry asked as Ron limped into his office. "I was going to come by tonight, but Molly said you'd be back for a little while today.

"Yeah. I wasn't too bad, actually. They knitted me up and gave me a pain draught, so mostly I just slept."

"Hermione come by to see you?" Ron and Hermione were still living apart, still married, but not reconciled.

"She brought the kids and all, but didn't have much to say. Seems like she never has anything to say anymore. She just looks pale and sad all the time. Mum says she's always working in the basement of the Ministry. Hardly ever sees sunlight. Might as well be a vampire the way she sucks the life out of room." Ron sat down in the empty wing chair across the desk from Harry.

"You know you guys are going to have to talk some day," Harry said. "This really can't go on forever. Besides, it's hard on your family and all the rest of us."

"Yeah. Well, that's some day. Some day wasn't yesterday, and it might not be today either. I don't know, Harry; I'm not trying to punish Hermione. It just makes me sick when I'm around her too much, and have to think about having been with him. And it's hard for me to be with Hugo, too. I love the little lad, and I'm terrified I'll say or do the wrong thing and hurt him. I still need more time."

"Damn, Ron! It's been more than two years now. I just don't understand why you guys can't get past this. I know you love each other. It wouldn't hurt so much if you didn't love each other."

"You want some tea, mate? Ella just brought in a new pot, and some biscuits too."

"Yeah, that'd be nice."

Harry touched his wand to his throat. "Els, could you bring us another cup, please?" Harry's secretary quickly brought another cup, poured for both of them, and then took the pot away to top it off.

"So, what have you got out of Dolohov so far?" Ron asked.

"Well hardly anything, to be truthful," Harry said. "It took us quite a while to process him in. The Minister wanted us to handle it quite a bit differently than Dirk and I would like. Of course, I'd like to torture the son of a blast-end skrewt.

"But Percy says we don't torture! Can you believe that brother of yours: 'Oh no, Harry! You can't do that! Can you imagine the horrible PR if news of torture by the Ministry got out!' Silly prat! I'm beginning to think that's exactly the kind of PR we do need. Scare some of these bounders into being more cooperative.

"Anyway, looks like Veritaserum for Dolohov. If that doesn't work, probably move on to a Pensieve and try to extract some memories. You finished with that tea? Let's go find Dirk and see what he wants to do."

Truncheon was not in a good mood when Harry and Ron reached his office. Harry had carried his own teacup into the Head Auror's office, and set it on his desk.

"Apparently the Romanians are giving Kingsley a hard time about Dolohov," he said. "Since Krum was one of theirs, they'd like to have first crack at his killer. Of course, we know that Dolohov is just the wand man; we want to get the others. And since it happened here, we feel responsible. Well, I'm going to get something out of him before we let them have him, I guarantee that!"

"Any movement on approving the methods?" Harry asked.

Truncheon looked up and grinned as Harry and Ron took their seats. "You would really like to water-board this guy, or better yet, get the Cruciatus Curse out of storage."

"To be honest, Dirk, I've never used a Crucio on anyone, and having felt its effects myself, I'm not likely to do it. That's one of the things that makes dealing with these dark wizards so unfair; they aren't bound by morals or bothered by conscience." Harry picked up his empty teacup from the Head Auror's desk, studied the tea leaves, laughed, put the cup back down. He turned to Ron. "Got the Grim again!"

Well, here's my initial plan," Truncheon replied. "We'll start with Veritaserum. There's no sense wasting time with weaker truth potions. However, I have a contact in the muggle world who has provided me with one of their more powerful truth drugs. As a last resort, I may try experimenting with it, either by itself, or in combination with Veritaserum." Truncheon's face took on a look of disgust at the idea he might have to fall back on muggle methods.

"I have also asked Minerva McGonagall to ship over the Pensieve that Professor Dumbledore used to use. We, of course, have a couple of our own here at the Ministry, but there seems to be a feeling among the staff that ours don't work as well as that one." Harry smiled at the memory of Dumbledore's Pensieve.

"You know that Pensives are quite fallible, don't you Dirk?" Harry remembered the cobbled up memories that Professor Slughorn had served up, trying to hide his involvement in teaching Tom Riddle about Horcruxes.

"Yes, getting anything useful from Dolohov will probably depend almost entirely on whether or not his employers have taken the trouble to modify his memories."

Harry was quite for a moment, contemplating the choices. "I think we should start with the Pensieve," he contributed. "We won't get anything with truth serums if the memories aren't there in the first place. Also, in some cases where memories have been modified, we've been able to fully or partially restore them if we know before using the potion."

"The only trouble is that taking a wizard's memories in that way is a technical violation of law. Trucheon wanted to do what Harry was suggesting, but he was reluctant to have the Auror Department break the very laws it was supposed to protect. "I suppose I will need to go to Kingsley with that idea, so there's another day wasted. But I think you're right. We probably should find out how much his memories are intact before wasting time on potions and serums.

"And Ron, a favor. I know encounters with your wife are painful at times, but I need something from her if it's possible." Truncheon grabbed the redhead's eyes and held them. Ron felt a little color rising in his cheeks.

"No, it's OK. Hermione and I see each other all the time. We just don't try to live together. We have children in common, and I can't ask her to stay away from my family…that's…er…well, as much her family as mine. What do you need?"

Truncheon looked relieved. "Good man. You two are dealing with this more maturely than I could, I'm sure. It's a good thing I've never married, I can tell you that!

"It's pretty well-known that Hermione spends her time making muggle devices work in the magical world. My friend tells me they have such a thing as a 'lie detector'. I'm wondering if you could ask her to experiment with making something like that work. It would be something that worked off the physical reactions of the subject, like when you blushed a minute ago. Maybe it wouldn't be as accurate as a true memory, but it might be a way to judge when memories have been modified.

"After all, wizards are still human beings. Our hearts speed up, we sweat more when we lie, our blood pressure increases. Even if the memory has been modified, we should get a clue about truth versus lies." Truncheon was determined not to miss any possibility. "I'll go talk to Kingsley. Ron, if you would please?"

"Sure. I'll go see her right now. Besides, I guess I've got some other things to talk to her about. At least, Harry says so." Ron got up and left the meeting, headed for the basement.

"Harry, I think you should continue seeing Dolohov. I think you just keep working on getting him as much off-balance as possible. Tell him anything you want. It doesn't need to be the truth. Tell him we're planning his torture schedule. Tell him we have some of his mates in custody, and they're talking. Plant some seeds of doubt. If he thinks we know more than we do, he'll be less guarded. I don't have to tell you. You know the techniques."

"Yeah, I do." Harry actually smiled for the first time. "You know, he's kind of a fun character to mess about with. He thinks he's really smart. He thinks he's covered all his bases. You should see his face when he thinks we know something we're not supposed to know. I think if I got a couple of pieces of key information, I could crack him just because his ego is so big."

"Well, we'll work that angle too. Let's get going!" Truncheon jumped up from his desk and headed for the Minister's office, while Harry headed for the holding cells.

In the basement, Ron knocked on the side of Hermione's open door. She looked up from her reading, smiled at him. "Hello, Ronald. I see you're feeling better."

"Lots. Thanks for bringing the kids by. Did Hugh get over his fright?" Ron always made it clear to her that he was more concerned with how the children were feeling than how she had adjusted to the separation.

"I think so, yes. In fact, I think he became quite proud of his father being injured in the line of duty and all!" Hermione always took every opportunity to try to reassure Ron that he was the only father Hugo had, so far as she and the child were concerned.

"Good. Well, I've come for a couple of reasons, one business, one personal. I think I'd better deal with the business subject first, though." Ron gave her a little half smile, indicating he didn't want to start any trouble, but didn't want to take any chances with his mission, either.

"Dirk wonders if you've ever played around with muggle lie detectors? We think we would like to try one out on Boris Dolohov before we get too far into Pensieves or potions; maybe find out if his memories have been modified, or if he is just trying to tough it out because he thinks we won't use torture."

"Sound more like something Arthur would know about," Hermione replied. Her father-in-law had long been involved in the misuse of muggle artifacts, and continued to be fascinated with muggle devices. "I haven't actually done anything with them. I more or less know the principles behind how they work; measuring physical reactions to what the subject is feeling or thinking versus what they are saying. Do you guys think it would useful? I could contact your dad, see what he knows. Maybe the two of us can get something together for you."

"Wicked. I think that would be brilliant, Hermione." Ron and Hermione both were careful not to use terms of endearment with one another any longer. "We're trying to get permission to legally take his memories, but if they've been modified, what's the use. If we can find out ahead of time, we might not bother."

"OK. I'll get on it today, but make sure you tell Dirk it might take a week, or even two, to get useful results." Hermione wondered what else her husband had to say.

"Harry thinks you and I need to take more about our situation." Ron simply blurted it out, whether she was ready or not.

"Well. Thank you for your bluntness. No use beating around the bush. You never have been one to hide your feelings, Ronald." She was not in the mood for confrontation. She always felt so guilty as it was. Rather than discussing the past, she had always hoped that eventually, she and Ron could put her indiscretions behind them and move on. "Why don't you have a seat if you plan on staying."

"No, I don't think I am. But I do want you to know I don't hate you. I might have at first, but I don't now. I think anything that happened is almost certainly more Malfoy's fault than yours." He caught her eye, and looked hopefully at her, expecting her to agree.

"No, Ron. Sorry. That's just not true. In fact, to be honest, it's just the opposite. I have always put myself in a position to be with him. If anything, I'm the one that's done the seduction. Draco has tried very hard to behave honorably around me. The only thing Draco has ever done wrong is to try to be over-protective. Ronald…that's the main reason you and I ended up together, you know. It's because you were more willing to let me be me, and accept me, warts and all. I always felt Draco wanted to lock me away in a room at his manor house, and smother me with his love."

"So, I was always the second choice, just like I always thought!" Ron started to turn away, to leave.

"NO Ronald! Never! YOU were always the FIRST choice. My mistake was in thinking that you would be the more stable choice. I have never doubted your love for me until now. You were the one I thought I could count on. You were the supposed to be the least exciting choice, the reliable one, the rock. I didn't think I could ever count on him to be with one woman, stay on the light side, do his job and stay out of trouble. He was supposed to be the adventure, the excitement, the experiment. YOU were supposed to be the result." She began to cry in frustration.

"And look what it's got me. The exact opposite of what I expected and wanted. You and Harry have always been right, you know. You can't learn the things you really need to know in life from books or through science. Those things only come with experience, and I have simply never created the right experiences, never conducted the right experiments.

"In science, we quickly learn that if we ask the wrong questions or start with the incorrect premise, we unfailingly achieve the wrong answer. That's what I did, and I am so so sorry for it." She was sobbing uncontrollably now.

"I didn't mean to make you cry."

"I know."

"It's too much to think about. My head hurts. I'm a simple man. I still can't get my brain around it all. I might some day. But, today doesn't seem to be the day." Ron tuned and walked out of the office. Hermione's head fell forward on her arms. It took her nearly an hour to calm down, but when she finally got her emotions back under control, she went upstairs to find Arthur Weasley.


	18. Brief Interlude

**_If you read this all the way through, you might find a little contest at the bottom. Have fun._**

Thanks so much for reading this far in "Dangerous Journeys". Please feel confident that I will finish this story, almost certainly before the end of 2010. I have several chapters of Book 2 already written, and there are only three (or less) chapters to go in Book 1. However, I am going to taking a vacation from posting updates to this story. There are several reasons:

**Main Reason:** For a lot of different reasons, I've lost interest in reading and writing fan fiction. I've been working with image making, writing non-fiction, exploring some original ideas, and just generally been busy with real life. Lately, I've had a lot of emails from readers of this story asking for update, and I have sympathy for those who want a finished story. I have a three-month commitment to complete at the moment, and some health issues to resolve. Then I think I will finish this story. I have actually been considering taking down some of the earlier chapters and revising them to suit the ending I have planned. I also have grown as a writer since I started this piece, and I think the early chapters could benefit from some of the things I've learned. I'll have to see how much time I want to spend on this.

**Reason Number Two:** I am editing for several other writers. Editing is really the correct term, too; I am not really trying to be a beta or co-author. But it is keeping me busy, and has taken away some of my personal writing time.

**Reason Number Three:** Some of the early chapters of "Dangerous Journeys" apparently need to be reworked or edited again. I am not sure how typos crept in, but apparently, they have. It just goes to show you can never trust a computer or a spell checker! I have been over the first five chapters so many times, I'm sick of them, and yet I am getting reviews that have found more typos. I am also giving some thought to re-punctuating dialogue in successive paragraphs. I use AP style in which quotes are not closed if the same speaker continues talking in the following graph; a number of reviewers have criticized this style. I am going to test my current style on another site that prides itself on such things, and see what they say. If they don't like, or won't accept AP styles, then I'll revert to "pre-colonial" punctuation.

**Reason Number Four:** Another reason I think that the early chapters need some re-working are the hit numbers. On Harry Potter Fan Fiction, it was not unusual for this story to average 200-300 hits a day. However, having said that, on HPFF only about two out of every three readers went on as far as Chapter Three, and only about half seemed to be reading all the way through. I had registered 1400 hits on Chapter 1 when I got kicked off that site, but at least 500 readers had also read all the way through Chapter 13, the last one I got through the posting process before they deleted me.

On this site, in just over 45 days, I've had almost 2000 hits on Chapter One, but only about 250 on Chapter Two and just over 125 and Chapter Three. From there it drops off, and I feel only about 45 people have read through all 17 chapters. To me, that says I am not getting them in the early chapters…and since DJ was my first ever effort at fiction, I am not too surprised. So, I am going to use the "vacation" time for re-writing. I'll try to let anyone who wants on my email notification list know as changes are made.

**Here's A Question You Should Ask!:** Why did good old Quid get kicked off HPFF? Basically, it comes down to a disagreement with them over what constitutes NC-17 vs Mature, and what does not. When I started writing DJ, I carefully read their rules, posts on their forum, and a number of other stories carrying the mature rating. I never attempted to "get away with" more than other writers were being allowed to post. However, after a time, it just seemed like they were singling me out (I suspect this happened because I raised a fuss over the way they treated authors during one of their frequent "queue closures") and rejecting things they were allowing others to post. Soon, it became clear they were simply nit-picking…finding a reason to reject every chapter once or twice before allowing it. With their long validation queue, it could take 2-3 week for me to get a new chapter posted.

Finally, in Chapter 13, where the very important sex scene between Draco and Hermione takes place (you can read it on this site!), they gave me so much trouble that I included a graph that essentially said there was such a scene, and they made me take it out. The next chapter included the murder of Viktor Krum, but they banned me almost as soon as I submitted it.

My final statement on this issue is that all these rating systems are extremely subjective, and any moderated site is going to put you at the mercy of the validator you get that day. I can live with that. However, when second and third validators come around and start pulling chapters back out that have already been approved by someone else, there is no way to know (well, at least no way for ME to know, and I'm supposedly a genius!) what is acceptable and what isn't. In my view, it's HPFF's loss, not mine.

**Here's A Challenge For Loyal Readers:** If you got this far, here's a little contest for you to keep you entertained over the next months while I write. Who do you think hired Borus Dolohov, and why? As reviewers leave reviews with their responses, I might be inclined to give some hints! :)

**The Last Word: **Well, not really, since I promised to finish the story. But this chapter is NOT part of the story and will be replaced with the real chapter when I return…look for it in later this year, I think. That may throw off your notification systems if you are a subscriber, so you might want to make sure you have checked on the "author notification" as well as the story notification. And have a great vacation!


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